Oprah Winfrey says goodbye to "The Oprah Winfrey Show"

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

Five years ago, Oprah Winfrey announced she had renewed her long-running talk show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," for five more seasons. The time has come and gone very quickly and her show is now a memory. While her show has ended, the impact it has had on the world will not soon be forgotten.

May 2011 was slated to be the final month for show and it was treated as such. Winfrey lined up several high-profile guests in order to say goodbye. The NBA had to re-schedule their headlining playoff series between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat because Oprah was having her show at the United Center.

Featuring such guests as Beyonce and Michael Jordan, Oprah has finally said goodbye to her viewers. Today marked the final episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Twenty-five years of touching viewers is over, in that format, at least. Oprah Winfrey's media lives on through her O magazine and her television network OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

Through this network, Oprah is broadcasting several shows and she will even host a new talk show on the channel.

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Oprah explains why she is ending "The Oprah Winfrey Show"

By TV Insider
JR Staff Writer

In 2008, Oprah Winfrey revealed surprising news to the public in two doses. First, she announced she had partnered with independent media company, Discovery, for a new television network. In the same breath, Oprah also announced she would be ending her long-running daytime talk show.

While she announced "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was ending, Oprah assured fans they would have another three seasons to watch the show. She had agreed to a five-year extension in 2006 and even then she knew the show was over. Always planning ahead, Oprah revealed why she decided to end the show.

In 2003, Oprah renewed the show for another three years, she had planned to end the show at 20 years. But, she received an email from dying child author, Mattie Stephanek. The little girl told her she should wait five more years to end the show. To her, 25 was a better number and she said she was also a little OCD.

Sadly, the girl eventually died in 2003, but the show continued. Oprah took Stephanek's advice and renewed the show for five more years in 2006. Now, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is done for good and Oprah is moving on with her life. During her talk, Oprah said she believes Mattie Stephanek was a messenger for our time.

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Oprah turns to Jay-Z for Television Network

For years, Oprah Winfrey has been a force within the television industry. In a few short years, Winfrey was able to go from a local talk show host into a multimillion dollar entity. Not only is she into television, but she also does television production and magazines. It was beginning to look as if she could not take anything else over.

However, in January 2008, she got one over on the world again, when she announced that she was going to create a television network of her own. Sensing the significance of the word "own," Oprah decided to name her network OWN. The three letters are an acronym of Oprah Winfrey Network.

The network has been in planning for two years and it will launch on January 1, 2011. For the launch, Oprah has some big plans, which include major celebrities. Ever since she first crossed over into the mainstream, Winfrey has been a major opponent of hip hop music. This has led to many rappers going against her.

Despite her apparent disdain for hip hop music, Oprah Winfrey invited Jay-Z to appear on her show last summer. The result of their interview led to a lifelong friendship being made. Winfrey referred to Jay-Z as her new best friend and a wonderful person. Meanwhile, Jay-Z boasted about having Oprah sitting on the steps of his old home at Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, New York. Oprah is preparing for the launch of her new network and she needs someone with the reach of Jay-Z.

Recently, she reached out to her rapper-friend and he reached back. When the Oprah Winfrey Network launches, on January 1, 2011, Jay-Z will be among the first people ever seen on the new network.

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