The Oprah Winfrey Show: union made

[Omaha Steve]

http://peoplesworld.org/the-oprah-winfrey-show-union-made/

by: Teresa Albano
May 23 2011

CHICAGO - As Oprah Winfrey says her long goodbye to fans of her 25-year daytime TV talk show, the media is churning out a mountain of terms to describe Winfrey and her impact. "Most influential celebrity" "most powerful woman" and "richest African American" are popular along with "pioneer," "self-made" and "queen of talk."

One phrase has escaped the attention of most entertainment reporters, "union employer and member."



That's right. The most influential celebrity, a woman who wields so much power the beef industry felt threatened when she said she wouldn't eat a hamburger, an African American billionaire whose biography reads like a classic rags to riches storyline, has produced her show with union contracts.

The self made pioneer who revolutionized daytime talk is also a union member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFTRA.

"From the beginning 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' has been produced under an AFTRA contract," said Christopher de Haan, AFTRA director of communications. "Anytime she has a performer on her show they are paid and covered under an AFTRA contract."

As the union name indicates, AFTRA represents on and off camera professional performers, called "talent" in the entertainment business, explained de Haan.

FULL story at link.

[Booster]

1. Oprah's a smart woman. Having worked all those years with her

own union contract, she knows how important a union is to all employees. I worked on a couple of Oprah's shows and she is exactly as she appears on tv; no nonsense, hard-working and extremely sensible. Oprah has never done anything that was bad; some things maybe didn't work exactly right, but I believe her heart was always in the right place. I, for one, will miss her daily show but I will pay attention to what her network has on. For all the people who detest her, I can't imagine what else she could have done that would have impressed you. And what have you done that's even close.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Ditto on that.

She can come on strong but she is a strong and, I believe, sincere woman.

She has done more for her viewers than many, many people. All the lessons I saw and learned were good ones.

Sure, she got suckered (that flighty drug and lies author) but who hasn't. Sure, she had Tom Cruise on but he's entertainment.

I wish her well and thank her for many years of good viewing.

[Meeker Morgan]

3. Very sweet, but she got rich by promoting quackery and exploiting the gullible. n/t