Oprah Winfrey, the reigning queen of daytime talk, announced yesterday that she will retire her #1 talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2006. In the meantime, she will continue to host one of the only talk shows on television urging women’s self-empowerment. The Oprah Winfrey Show has consistently taken on hard-hitting women’s issues, such as gender apartheid in Afghanistan and female genital mutilation. Winfrey, herself, has been a forerunner in women’s issues having appeared on ABC’s Ellen for the “coming out” episode and performed in Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues. Winfrey has also distinguished herself through her philanthropy and through her work on behalf of children. In 1991, Winfrey testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of the National Child Protection Act that established a national registry of convicted child abusers.
Winfrey began her career in broadcasting at TV affiliates in Nashville, TN and Baltimore, MD before moving to Chicago to host the morning talk show AM Chicago, the precursor to The Oprah Winfrey Show. Winfrey has hosted the show since 1985 and is considered to be one of the most powerful media icons in the United States.
Media Resources: CNN.com, 3/12/02; Oprah.com; Feminist Majority Foundation
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
