Why Oprah turned her back on Chicago media
Believe it or not, there really was a time when Oprah Winfrey didn’t reign over Chicago.
People under 35 may find it hard to imagine, but the local media landscape looked altogether different in the era before she arrived.
The daytime talk show of record was “Donahue.” The hottest ticket in town (with a waiting list of 10 years) was “The Bozo Show.” The lady with all the answers was Eppie “Ann Landers” Lederer. The highest paid broadcaster on the air was Paul Harvey. The most popular woman on television was Mary Ann Childers. The most influential magazine publishers were Hugh Hefner and John H. Johnson. Visiting monarchs, moguls and movie stars paid homage to Irv Kupcinet. Authors prayed for an endorsement from Robert Cromie or Milt Rosenberg. Chicago’s ultimate arbiter of style and its most treasured philanthropist was Abra Prentice Anderson. The Near West Side was known as Skid Row.
And then came Oprah.
With a parade down State Street on New Year’s Day 1984, the new host of “A.M. Chicago” officially arrived, although no one – not even Oprah herself – could possibly have foreseen the impact she would have on Chicago, the media and the world over the next 25 years.
While she quickly eclipsed Phil Donahue in the ratings and sent him packing for New York, Oprah’s ascent in other ways was more gradual. Her early years in Chicago were marked by an openness to fans and an accessibility to the media that eventually would give way to aloofness and distrust.
But before all the sycophants and security, before all the corporate secrecy and employee confidentiality, and before all the millions of dollars and then billions of dollars, Oprah was like a breath of fresh air.
Her triumphs were our triumphs. We celebrated her syndication deal with a luncheon at Spiaggia. We exulted with her when the ratings went through the roof for her first appearance on “The Tonight Show” (with Joan Rivers filling in for Johnny Carson). We rejoiced when her movie debut in “The Color Purple” garnered an Academy Award nomination. We marveled when she acquired ownership of her talk show. We shared her pride when she showed off the West Loop production house she’d spared no expense to refurbish as her own Harpo Studio.
Before the start of each season, we’d chat about her plans and compare notes about the competition. If she had a particularly sensitive announcement to make (such as her decision to withdraw publication of her much-anticipated autobiography), she’d share that, too, and follow it up with a personal note or a gracious voice mail message.
“It’s so easy to get caught up in gossip about Oprah’s private life that we often overlook the fact that she is here in Chicago making extraordinary television day in and day out, touching and inspiring a vast audience in a way no one else ever has,” I wrote in a 1992 column headlined: “Why We’re Lucky Our Oprah Is Here.”
But as Oprah’s empire grew, the demands and pressures on her grew as well. Self-serving relatives peddled her secrets to the tabloids. Disloyal staffers became increasingly litigious and loquacious. Even as she celebrated her own “free speech” victory over Texas cattlemen who sued her for defamation, she was muzzling her own employees with lifetime confidentiality agreements. Control of Oprah’s brand and image became paramount.
It’s no wonder she was feeling increasingly gun-shy around the local media. As Robert Kurson recounted in a 2001 piece for Chicago magazine, Oprah felt blindsided by a devastating profile in Spy magazine by Bill Zehme, and angered by what she called a “vicious, malicious lie” about her and boyfriend Stedman Graham published by former Sun-Times gossip columnist Ann Gerber. Around the same time, Dan Santow, a former producer for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” wrote an unflattering behind-the scenes piece for Redbook magazine, and Colleen Raleigh, former top publicist for Harpo, aired her grievances in an embarrassing lawsuit.
While she came to redefine Chicago’s image to the world and dominate the media as no one had before, the Oprah we’d known and loved was becoming someone we didn’t recognize anymore. Her public appearances in Chicago, once commonplace and spontaneous, became increasingly rare and calculated — like her election night reverie in Grant Park or her block party on Michigan Avenue.
Of course, it all makes perfect sense: Why would one of the richest, most powerful women alive — with a top-rated talk show, a successful magazine, a thriving production company, a flourishing Internet enterprise, a growing satellite radio venture and her very own cable network — deign to bother dealing with media people she neither trusts nor controls?
In announcing her decision Friday to end her Chicago-based talk show in 2011, Oprah left many questions unanswered about her plans and the fate of her company headquarters here. It speaks volumes about her relationship with the local press that Chicago reporters and columnists were given no greater access to her — none, really — than their counterparts from anywhere else. (The sole exception was longtime friend Roger Ebert, who shared a personal email from her.) Mayor Daley had it all wrong: The press didn’t turn on Oprah. She turned on the press.
As Chicagoans brace for the 18-month run-up to Oprah’s grand finale, we’re left to contemplate how far we’ve come together with her — and, at the same time, how far apart we’ve grown.
Elsewhere on the media beat:
- Charles Thomas, the veteran political reporter for ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7, condemned the recent reunion of ex-news anchors Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson on CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2. “I think this is such an incredible breach of journalistic ethics that I learned at the University of Missouri 36 years ago,” Thomas told Joel Weisman on WTTW-Channel 11’s “Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review.” “To have a pitchman like Kurtis fronting the news is absolutely verboten. You just don’t do that. You just can’t sell stuff and then expect to have credibility that we’re neutral as reporters. Remember that Ron Magers, my colleague, walked away from a very lucrative job — he and Carol Marin — in 1997 because of a stunt. . . . What happened in 12 years? The corporate profiteers have just basically taken over our profession. . . . The barbarians are inside the gate now, and they’re burning, pillaging and raping. And I’m sorry, that’s the reality.”
- Everyone’s a critic: I know I’ve been a bit harsh lately on WGN-AM (720), but for the record, I take no responsibility for the woman who hurled a brick Friday through the showcase studio window of the Tribune Co.-owned news/talk station. “I thought it was like a foam . . . it went right through,” said host John Williams, who was in the studio at the time.
- It’s nice to see a former ink-stained wretch make good: John Barron, who joined the Sun-Times as a reporter in 1995, was promoted Friday to group publisher and senior vice president of Sun-Times Media Group. He most recently was publisher of the Sun-Times and Pioneer Press.
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blogs.vocalo.org
I wonder how high people are going to hawk tickets to her show for on craigslist and ebay.
charles thomas needs to get over it! It’s a new day and you can’t question Bill Kurtis’ credibility! He shouldn’t be stopped from doing what he does best anchoring and reporting because he fronts AT&T. He’s the best in the business just don’t have him read any cell phone or internet stories. He is totally transparent!! Charles books become outdated in school. So is this thought of we are too stupid to figure it all out for ourselves as viewers.
CBS 2 management put Bill and Walter at 6 like they did at channel 7 with Floyd Kalber and forget the old thought on this issue.
“a growing satellite radio venture”… really? It’s growing? Oprah’s participation on her Sirius channel makes her Discovery channel seem like All Oprah, All The Time. And it doesn’t exist yet, right?
You’re right. I should have said “evolving.”
Journalistic ethics? Just what might they be? I remember a TV reporter covering a murder trial at 26th and California back in the 90’s. The verdict broke right during the 5 pm news and the reporter had to go to the street to do his live shot. He didn’t know what the actual verdict was but reported one anyway. He guessed wrong. After all, it was a 50/50 shot. Oops.
Rob, I like “self-replicating”, like in ‘Soylent Green’…
Was stunned to hear Charles Thomas mispronounce *verboten* so badly. He’s a reporter & you’d think after all these years, he could get that straight!!!
http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,1
You’re right, James Edwards. One incident from “back in the 90s” absolutely does prove your point about media ethics.
“You’re right, James Edwards. One incident from “back in the 90s” absolutely does prove your point about media ethics”
This was just one incident. I pretty big incident. How many more have there been by this reporter? Who knows? This one was very public. If that reporter reads this site, I would love to hear the explanation. If you have nothing to report, why make up something as this reporter did? Did the reporter want to be “first” with the “news?” There are many reasons why the reporter may not have had the facts when it was time to do his live report. But making up, or guessing at, the verdict in this case was not right.
I would remind Charles Thomas of several points. First, if he listens regularly to WBBM-AM….what will he hear? Assorted news reporters reading commercial copy for products/services advertised on the station. Nobody complains about Len Walter or Felicia Middlebrooks doing the occasional spot. Picking up a little pocket change on the side.
Second, his own nescasts at WLS are hardly pure as the driven snow. Whenever ABC/Disney has network product to push, it invariably shows up as “news” in their afternoon block between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Nobody seems to care. Nobody comments. I’d suggest Charles is being a tad disingenuous in his critique of Bill and Walter. Nobody takes Charles to rask over his oh-so-cozy relationship with Roland Burris. He always gets The Big Friendly Hello from Senator Burris, while Mike Flannery, by contrast is rudely addressed as “Flannery!” As in “Don’t go there, Flannery! Don’t go there, Flannery!” I’m still asking myself why Mike Flannery didn’t stop Burris cold and say, “That’s MISTER Flannery to you, Senator.”
Where was Chales Thomas that day to speak up for his colleague Mike Flannery?
I guess he picks and chooses what to be outraged about. Two little old men reading 20 minutes of Friday night news is so much more important.
Yeah. Right.
I am also “uncomfortable” with the resurrection of former news anchor icons. Bill Kurtis moved away from the confines of broadcast journalism (ethics, rules, practices, etc.) into the lucrative universe of actor-pitchman-quasi reporter. And now we’re supposed to suspend all of that current image and believe that he has reinstated his journalistic chops? Not so fast Channel 2 News. There is such a thing as journalistic integrity. And now a former newsman-turned smarmy pitchman expects us to believe that past once-earned integrity still applies to his recent news broadcast appearance. It’s not that easy, people. A professional broadcast journalist spends years building street-cred and a reputation based on solid, accurate past performance using the journalism principles learned way back in those college classes. The trust, believability and gravitas earned in those hard-working years does not transfer once the journalism career is abandoned in favor of lighter fare. In short, Bill Kurtis, and, to some extent, Walter Jacobson, must re-earn our trust if they are to be taken seriously as “newsmen” again. I don’t for a moment expect Kurtis to walk away from what has become a very good living for him as a commercial spokesman to be a news anchor in Chicago. But should he ever choose to do so, we all need to know he’s serious about it and that we’ll not see him in another TV commercial. News is all about who, what, when, where, why, and how. Mixed messages are never easy to digest and lack sincerity. Real news demands sincerity, and so do Chicago news viewers.
First off – Kurtis was not that good, even in his “prime”. The man had all the depth of a game show host. His over-use of dramatic pauses and furrowed brows was his weak attempt to be “serious”. The recent Channel 2 stunt to bring him back with Walter Jacobsen was a sign of desperation on Channel 2’s part. The fact is – there is little difference in content between 2, 5 and 7 at the 10:00 PM hour. As superficial as it sounds, the personalities matter. Rob Johnson is a decent guy, buy Ann State is neither a plus nor a minus.
Two things seem to distinguish Ch 7 from the rest. Chuck Goudie’s pieces do occasionally delve serious subjects in a welcome longer format, such as the recent arrest of 2 Chicago men who might be linked to terrorist attacks in India. But he also tends to do too many Chicago Outfit stories. And Steve Dolinski is very knowledgeable in his Hunger Hound reports. It is not just about what new restaurant opened, but identifying trends in the dining business and showcasing local businesses.
Charlie Thomas, if you only had a Q score as high as Walter and Bill. Viewers DGAS (don’t give a s***) where you went to school and what you learned in school. It has no relevance for a viewer.
Charlie Thomas is one of those media types who think they know more and are better than others.
Thank God there was Walter and Bill as a team. They were worth watching every night.
Dumb. But expected. Chicago is so immature when it comes to it’s creative entrepreneurs it’s a wonder anyone would produce here.
News Flash! Entertainment is a competition. Chicago has had a litany of winners over the decades, many of them mentioned here. But Chicago loses to New York and Los Angeles because we embrace our “Second City” psychosis. Simply showing up to execute a ‘job’ in media is not going to cut it. You must sear your presence into the imagination. Audiences are sophisticated and inundated. Go out and capture them.
I laughed until I cried when Oprah was criticized as “Elitist” to open her season on Michigan Avenue. Duh! Yeah! That’s the point.
The provincialism is embarrassing.
Do you think for a minute a Representative of Los Angeles County would utter the same words about Steven Speilberg if he wanted to tumble animatronic dinosaurs down Wilshire?
Stop. If your mind is forming around a scenario that leans to the affirmative; I bet you dollars to donuts you haven’t got that Oprah interview either.
If Oprah won’t talk to local press it’s the fault of the local press. Try keeping up. Try investigating the world with a world perspective. Try getting after it with the vigor and foresight of the visionaries you cover. Try being proud and agressive and defensive of your city.
Perhaps then you could hold a conversation with an Oprah, or Hefner, or Donahue et al.
I miss “Donahue”.
Anyway, I understand Oprah’s show impacts many lives. It just never impacted mine.
I stopped watching years ago. As Feder said, “Her public appearances in Chicago…became rare.” She lived in a bubble.
She rarely does anything local and never talks to the audience. She could do the show in Japan and it would be the same.
As for quitting? Barbra Walters said the same thing years ago. I still see her on my TV all the time. Watching Oprah cry over “the end” was a bit nauseating. Millions of people losing their jobs (unlike Oprah losing her job by choice). She has a couple of years to get used to “the end” while many Americans stand in unemployment lines worried about their future. I can’t feel bad for Oprah. Once again, she has shown she’s completely out of touch with the common man/woman.