Newsweek Takes On Goliath (oops I mean Oprah)!
Written by: Kim Sawyer
This week, Newsweek decided to put Oprah on their cover. But, it wasn’t to celebrate Oprah, it was to disparage her. The cover of the magazine (see for yourself) depicts an angry-looking Oprah and is titled, “Crazy Talk: Oprah, Wacky Cures & You.”
Obviously, this picture is not flattering to Oprah and it definitely makes her look a little ‘crazy;’ hence, the headline. But is it fair? The writers of the article, Weston Kosova and Pat Wingert, are of the belief that Oprah uses her influence to promote certain health remedies that could be dangerous to viewers. Now, granted, Oprah does have a lot of clout amongst her viewers, and she does seem to have the ability to sway people to see things her way, but this article may be stretching things a little too much, don’t you think?
I mean, just because Oprah has allowed Jenny McCarthy to voice her opinion that vaccinations caused her son’s autism, in addition to showcasing a viewer who admitted swallowing 60 supplements a day, does this mean that Oprah is of the same belief? Not really. In fact, I know quite a few people who believe that vaccinations cause autism, and they’ve felt this way long before Jenny McCarthy appeared on Oprah.
You would think, based on my defense of Oprah, that I am a fan. Well, believe it or not, I’m really not. I think her topics, as well as her show are, for the most part, boring. But, that’s neither here nor there. I do recognize that Oprah is a talk show host presenting a slew of topics — some of which you may agree with, and well, some you may not.
Oprah defended herself against the Newsweek article with the following response, “”For 23 years, my show has presented thousands of topics that reflect the human experience, including doctors’ medical advice and personal health stories that have prompted conversations between our audience members and their health care providers. ”I trust the viewers, and I know that they are smart and discerning enough to seek out medical opinions to determine what may be best for them.”
What do you think about this? Can Oprah easily sway people? Or are the authors of the Newsweek article just trying to stir up more buyers for the magazine by putting Oprah on the cover?
Tags: Jenny McCarthy is against vaccinations, Newsweek calls Oprah crazy, Newsweek magazine, Newsweek writes about Oprah, Oprah Winfrey
June 9th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Newsweek’s article troubles me for one reason …. Newsweek is a news magazine that should be a source of factual information for serious current events and news… There are many more newsworthy and important events going on right now that should take up space on Newsweek’s cover, not Oprah.
Much of Newsweek’s frustration seems to be that Oprah should stick to being an entertainer, not a health care advisor. Well, Newsweek should stick to being a news magazine, not a tabloid that tries to poke fun of entertainers. By the way, I wonder how many more issues Newsweek sold this week because they put Oprah on the cover….I believe that their appraisal of the advice she gives on her show is incomplete and mean. Oprah is known for offering non-traditional health care remedies such as the power of visualization, hypnosis, supplements and other alternative modes of healing(The Secret)..In reality, people do heal themselves by methods that can not be explained with science’s. Oprah also has Ivy-League educated doctors on the show that advocate traditional advice such as healthy eating and exercise. I believe part of Oprah’s success is that people trust her…I believe she also trusts that her audience has the intelligence to research which combination of traditional and non-traditional healing ideas will work best for them.
Ann Brock´s last blog post..Is A Child’s Death The Ultimate Punishment?
June 9th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Hi Ann,
Great comment! If you do a little research, you’ll find Newsweek, more times than not, will deliberately print the most unglamorous shot when doing a negative issue on a celeb. It seems they are now targeting Oprah. This was just a way to up their sales, really.
June 9th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Oprah could take over the country will the amount of followers she has. She has a huge amount of clout, but I could care less, I would hope people are able to think for themselves. You know make informed decisions and not let Oprah decide for them. glad the comment section is back up in running. Did ya miss me???
June 9th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Yes, Oprah has a lot of power. But this is another area where a person’s common sense has to step in. After 23 years, a magazine comes to this conclusion? What about all the giveaways that Oprah “held” but didn’t provide?
Many things going on in our country today are clear indications (to me) that as a country we need to smarten up.
Tom Sawyer´s last blog post..Newsweek Takes On Goliath (oops I mean Oprah)!
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