Oprah-geddon, Day 2: The Announcement
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 20, 2009 3:55PM
So now the news has sunk in and...well, now what? There's plenty of speculation, mainly around the idea that Oprah will simply relaunch her show on OWN once she closes down shop here. Kind of what Nikki Finke suggested a few weeks ago. So who knows what we'll find out in a few minutes when her show goes on the air, the last live taping of the calendar year (new taped episodes will still be shot). She'll address her audience and we're guessing it'll be mostly the same as what we've already her. But maybe we're wrong. Maybe we'll get specific details about what she plans on doing when that mystical date of September 9, 2011 flips over on the calendar.
Love her or hate her, Oprah has been a big draw for the City of Chicago, perhaps not as big as the Sears Willis Whatever Tower, but she does loom large, as does the economic impact of the jobs at Harpo, Inc. If she does indeed leave Chicago as has been speculated, will she keep the Chicago studio open? What happens to those jobs? While the future of Oprah herself may not seem immediately relevant to many readers, the impact of her departure from Chicago is.
We know most of you are stuck in an office, so below we'll do our best to keep up with what she says about her leaving and her future. But we're not live-blogging Ray Romano. This we promise.
Update: Here we go. "After much prayer and months of careful thought." She mentions the speculation to come from the media. "I could have never imagined the yellow brick road...that led me to this moment." And Oprah gets emotional.
"For some of you...you have literally grown up with me...I want you all to know that my relationship with you is one I hold very dear...and has brought me the greatest joy I have ever known."
"So why walk away: here is the real reason. I love this show, this show has been my life and I love it enough to know when it's time to say good-bye. 25 years feels right...the perfect time."
She wraps up with, of course, no mention of future projects or OWN. No surprise there. A tearful Oprah bids adieu, bowing to a standing ovation from the audience.
Let the guessing game as to what comes next begin.