奥普拉：一个脱口秀时代的终结？(有声)

英语自学网

Is Oprah The Queen Of All Media?
       

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        MICHELE NORRIS, host: The queen of all media is walking away from her biggest media platform. On Wednesday, Oprah Winfrey is ending her syndicated daytime talk show after 25 years.
        Mr. TOM HANKS (Actor): Oprah Winfrey, today, you are surrounded by nothing but love.
        NORRIS: That was Tom Hanks there, and she had Tom Hanks as emcee（主持人） for a couple of her farewell shows（告别秀）. Those shows became a parade of stars, from Beyonce to Diane Sawyer to Madonna, all in front of a stadium full of thousands of loyal Oprah viewers.
        Ms. OPRAH WINFREY: You have made it possible for us to stand for 25 years. Your presence in front of your television sets and your presence here tonight honors me in the deepest way possible. And I feel the love. Thank you.
        NORRIS: Joining us now to figure out what this means for Oprah and for television and for Oprah fans is Eric Deggans. He's the TV and media critic for the St. Petersburg Times. Eric, welcome back to the program.
        Ms. ERIC DEGGANS (TV and Media Critic, St. Petersburg Times): Thank you for having me.
        NORRIS: You know, we all remember some of her big pop culture moments - Tom cruise jumping up and down on the stage, for instance. But there were other things that she did that really set the show apart, things like taking the show to Forsyth County, Georgia, to have a conversation about race or taking the show on the road to highlight things that she thought America needed to talk about.
        Mr. DEGGANS: What I think was singular about what she did was, before Oprah, the voice for women in daytime television was often controlled by men. The highest rated daytime talk host of the time was Phil Donahue. And I loved his show, and I love what he did, but he was a guy speaking to women.
        And Oprah came along and was a woman articulating（articulate，明确、有力地表达） all those same issues and more from a woman's point of view. So she was able to talk about fashion and sexism and AIDS and the gay community and prejudice in a way that Phil Donahue, frankly, could not do.
        NORRIS: She also fussed at people. She brought Toni Braxton on the show and said: How dare you burn through all that money that fast?
        Mr. DEGGANS: Well, you know, like a good girlfriend, she's going to make you come correct.
        Mr. DEGGANS: You know, James Frey I think was sort of the most notable example of that. You know, like any friend - Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, you talked about some of them - James Frey started out as a friend of the show. His book, "A Million Little Pieces," got great exposure on Oprah's show.
        But when she realized that book was based on lies and she couldn't really defend it anymore, she brought him on to have an accounting before her audience and not only articulated, you know, how betrayed she felt by him personally but also got us all talking about how much can we believe memoirs.
        NORRIS: America has become much more multicultural, but it's also racially fragmented in many ways still, even in 2011. And for many women, many white women in particular, Oprah was like their one black friend.
        Mr. DEGGANS: Right. You know, I hate the way this term sounds, but there's a term in film criticism and media criticism called the magic Negro, where you have that black character who shows the white protagonist how to better live their life.
        And as strange as that sounds, you know, Oprah fulfilled that function for a lot of people. She was that perfect black friend who could get you to see yourself in a different way.
        NORRIS: And not just to white audiences, to black audiences, too, to really audiences of all colors, although I don't know that she would warm up to the magic Negro term.
        Mr. DEGGANS: Well, I think for black folks, Oprah was a little different. I mean, number one, I think - and I'm African-American myself, obviously.
        NORRIS: As am I.
        Mr. DEGGANS: You know, a lot of pride in seeing a black person get to the point where they could be accepted universally. That is the dream of a lot of people who may feel on the outside of society.
        So, seeing somebody start from poverty, being a black person in an industry dominated by white voices and come along and be accepted so universally and be so successful, I think there's a lot of pride in that. And seeing that play out is our story, too.
        NORRIS: Eric, always good to talk to you. Thank you very much.
        Mr. DEGGANS: Thank you.
        NORRIS: That's Eric Deggans, he's the TV and media critic for the St. Petersburg Times.
         

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        Oprah Winfrey Says Goodbye on Her Final Show
       
       

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        After 25 years, only one person could be inspiring, iconic and life-changing enough to be the final guest on the last-ever The Oprah Winfrey Show: Oprah herself.
        "This is my love letter to you," Winfrey, 57, said during the episode which taped Tuesday in Chicago. Alone on her studio stage – a striking contrast to the previous two shows, which were star-studded spectaculars before 13,000 cheering fans at the United Center – Winfrey said, "I want to leave you with lessons from my life."
        Saying goodbye to the TV show that turned her into big sister to the world, Winfrey spent the hour sharing favorite clips and recounting what she's gleaned during her run as the most successful talk show host in history.
        Winfrey credited a higher power with her astonishing achievements. "In every decision, I wait and listen for the guidance that's greater than my meager mind," she said.
        Winfrey, who appeared calm and confident but with an occasional tear in her eye, continued to share lessons with her fans. "Each one of you has your own platform. You can help somebody, you can listen, you can forgive," she said. "My greatest wish for all of you ... is that you carry whatever you are supposed to be doing and don't waste any more time."
        Among the other lessons she's learned over the past quarter century, Winfrey said, "You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself, and the energy you bring to others. Don't wait for somebody else to save you, to complete you, to fix you."
        At the end of the hour, Winfrey said she felt "all sweet, no bitter," and thanked viewers.
        "I won't say goodbye," she said. "I'll just say, 'Until we meet again.' "
        Winfrey then stepped down the steps of the stage, walked through the audience, stopping to give longtime partner Stedman Graham a hug and kiss. She continued out the studio doors, and high-fived members of her staff who had crowded into the hallways and the staircase that leads to the studio's offices above.
        At the top of the stairs, she picked up her cocker spaniel and said, "Sadie, we did it!" Winfrey then walked with the pup in her arms toward her office as the show ended.
        The Oprah Winfrey Show finale will air Wednesday on ABC.