Radio Ro Blog

As almost everyone on the planet knows, The Oprah Winfrey Show will come to an end this spring after 25 years of groundbreaking interviews, emotional reveals, multiple awards and the best giveaways ever. Arguably the most influential TV personality of all time, Oprah Winfrey has helped sell millions of books and launched a myriad of successful careers. Her next venture, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, kicks off January 1, but her talk show is still her No. 1 priority. “My intention is to be fully present this season,” says Winfrey, 56. “To take in every experience and allow myself to feel it all.” TV Guide Magazine: Why did you decide to end your show after this season? Winfrey: It just feels like the right time. I always wanted to leave when I felt the platform was still vital and held some kind of meaning in the hearts and minds of the audience. TV Guide Magazine: The Oprah Winfrey Show has been a major part of your life for 25 years. Will there be a lot of tears? Winfrey: I don’t intend to be crying the whole season. The only time I get really emotional and nostalgic about the show is when I think about the viewers. Hopefully some of them will follow me to OWN, but I know not everybody will. And it will be bittersweet because it’s bringing this chapter to a close. The show hasn’t been a big part of my life. It’s been my life. I didn’t have children. I had the show. And I have created a family of support from my staff and the audience that really has had a huge impact on my life. TV Guide Magazine: How will you top last season’s kick-off—the Black Eyed Peas concert with half of Chicago dancing in a choreographed number? Winfrey: We’re not closing down any streets and I don’t know if there will be any dancing. But it will be meaningful in its own way. And I absolutely can’t tell you what it will be. TV Guide Magazine: Throughout the season, will you go back to your favorite moments on the show? Winfrey: There will be some of that. We have nearly 5,000 hours [of footage], and we broke up into different teams of people who have over the past eight, nine months looked at every single show. TV Guide Magazine: Have you asked President Obama to make an appearance? Winfrey: No, I did not ask him to come on this year. But I did say, “I’m sure you will hear from somebody on my team before this year is over.” [Laughs] I’m sure that at some point I will see a taped message or something. TV Guide Magazine: Is it true that you’re trying to locate the people who were on your first show and in the audience for your first national show? Winfrey: That is true. Our record-keeping wasn’t as solid then as it is now. [Laughs] Those were the days when I would go out on the street and ask people to come in: “Come in! It’s air-conditioned.” TV Guide Magazine: How did Oprah evolve into a show that is about inspiration and aspiration? Winfrey: Yesterday I was looking at a skinhead show [we did in 1988], and I said to my staff, “That’s the show that caused me to do television differently.” What I learned from that is you cannot allow yourself to be a vehicle that promotes the energy of hatred in any form. That was life-changing for me. TV Guide Magazine: Is there a secret to creating a great talk show? Winfrey: The secret is authenticity. The reason people fail is because they’re pretending to be something they’re not. And even those who are not in alignment with my value system, people like Jerry Springer, he works because he’s real. If you can find what the passion is and figure out a way to express that in an authentic and entertaining way, you have a chance at success. Source