Front » Commentary » Oprah’s Palin snub rubs audience wrong way
PUBLISHED: 09-15-08
Oprah’s Palin snub rubs audience wrong way
Alaskan governor Sarah Palin is the first woman in 24 years to be nominated for vice president. The 44-year-old mother of five is a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” who recently helped reinvigorate the once-sluggish presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain. But despite her undeniable appeal to scores of women around the country, television talk-show mogul Oprah Winfrey has refused to interview Palin.
By refusing to interview the vice presidential nominee, Winfrey has not only offended a large percentage of her core viewers, she has also revealed her own political bias. Her decision to deny Palin is sure to be reflected in her ratings.
Conservatives around the country have called for a boycott of Winfrey’s show.
Despite the controversy, Winfrey continues to claim she refused the interview because she doesn’t want her show used as a political platform. However, Winfrey welcomed Sen. Barack Obama onto her show with open-arms not once, but twice.
Not only has Winfrey embraced Obama, she has acted as one of his biggest supporters. She has toured with him, made numerous appearances at campaign rallies and most recently, attended the Democratic National Convention to show her support. It was there, while listening to his speech, that Winfrey said she “wept her eyelashes off” because she was so moved. Winfrey even went so far as to hold an Obama fundraiser, for which tickets sold for $2,300 each-the legal maximum amount for primary-campaign giving.
For a woman who claims she doesn’t want her show used for a political platform, she is exceedingly quick to alienate her audience in order to satisfy her own political agenda.
According to MSNBC.com, Winfrey’s core audience is comprised of married white women over the age of 55. Her viewers tend to have conservative values and often support Republican candidates. The women who make up Winfrey’s core audience are the same women who have rallied behind Palin. Winfrey’s refusal to host Palin has spawned outrage among the talk-show diva’s viewing demographic.
In a statement released by Winfrey, the talk-show giant said, “At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates.”
But in every election preceding this, Winfrey has shown no problem using her stage as a political battleground. In 2000, Winfrey allowed both Al Gore and George W. Bush to sit on her infamous couch.
The point Winfrey seems to be missing is that she could easily use her show to interview Palin without turning it into a political platform.
Winfrey does not have to agree with or support any of Palin’s political viewpoints to have a successful and compelling interview. In fact, due to Palin’s intriguing personal background, Winfrey could have easily hosted the vice presidential nominee without even touching on politics.
The very things that have made many American women fall in love with Palin are the exact topics that Winfrey would typically cover. Winfrey could have talked to Palin about being a working mother of five, of a developmentally disabled child, of a pregnant teenage daughter and of a son who is being deployed to Iraq. These are topics that American women-Winfrey viewers-can relate to. These are critical topics that keep viewers tuning into “The Oprah Show” and flipping the pages of O Magazine day after day. By refusing to host Palin, Oprah closed the door to what could have been a compelling conversation, from one woman to another.
“Oprah” is a women’s talk show with a mission to empower women. Winfrey’s choice to snub Palin goes against all that her show stands for. In the end, Winfrey may be able to walk away from this decision with her political allegiance in tact, but it is unlikely she will walk away unscathed.
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Sep 15th 2008
This may come as a surprise to you, Ms. Reinhart, but there is no constitutional right to appear on the “Oprah” show. Winfrey is not a journalist and is not bound by neutrality (unlike the “reporters” at Fox News Channel, who leave all pretense of fairness at the studio door). If she doesn’t want to interview Palin, then Palin doesn’t appear on the show. Deal with it. And if Oprah wants to support Obama, that’s her right, too. Again, deal with it.
Sep 15th 2008
Uh, who cares? It makes me sad to hear that a bunch of women are spending their time whining over something like this. It’s Oprah’s show and she can book or not book whomever she wants, just like people have the right to agree to or turn down being interviewed. Besides, eight years ago the state of the US was much different than it is today. Not even Oprah could have predicted how badly our leadership was going to botch pretty much everything.
On the plus side, maybe the people who choose to go along with the boycott will go out and do something more productive with their lives during the hour they would usually spend sitting in front of the tv.
Sep 23rd 2008
Hmmm, my original criticism of this article has mysteriously disappeared awating approval. Still doesn’t change the fact that this column lacks any originality and is a repeat of what has been propagandized.
Sep 26th 2008
From one woman to another – are you joking???
Sarah Palin has as much in common with Oprah as any other thinking American woman has with this ridiculous individual.
Sarah Palin is nothing more than John McCain’s mistake and will find herself in history as a punch line for jokes about stupid power-hungry women. Thanks a lot John McCain.
Oct 8th 2008
This election is bigger than Oprah’s ratings. Oprah realizes that. Enough said.
Oct 11th 2008
Oprah is NOT obligated to have Sarah Palin on her show. She is not a news reporter. Why do you think this? Did it ever occur to you that she may find Sarah Palin offensive? Like many of us do?
Oct 21st 2008
Opera is not required to have Sarah Palin on her show. Perhaps because Palin personifies the old saying ignorance is bliss. She doesn’t speak for me or anyone I know. Her ignorance of the U.S. Constitution and the the system of checks and balances is staggering. Her rhetoric is divisive and tinged with bigotry. The United States was founded on an idea and a system put in place tho make that idea possible. Sarah Palin’s America is a small place with no room for discourse or disagreement. Clearly, she out of her league when it comes to governance. I think we can do better.
Nov 4th 2008
This article is the product of lazy and biased writing.
I expect a far higher standard of journalism from Columbia Chronicle.
Not only is there no news here, some of the facts and background have been carefully omitted.
A quick google search reveals Oprah’s response to the media attention:
“At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates.”
“I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.”
This is not what any reader would infer from the headline, content or tone of this article.
Good work Bethany! You have a bright future in shilling divisive propaganda. I just hope to God that you’ll never have access to a media empire anywhere near the size of Oprah’s to spread it.
Nov 7th 2008
Obama was on the Oprah show twice , so much for her the quote mentioned in your comment.
“At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates.”
The only reason there is no news in this article for you is because you don’t agree with the content. Now let’s see if Oprah, Oooprah, Oooprah will invite the first woman in 25 years to be nomainated as VP after she gets done unleashing. May I say also say good work Bethany? Ooooprah, Ooooprah…….
Nov 11th 2008
Oprah is such a fake; she says she doesn’t want to make her show a political platform, but now she wants Palin on there (after the election). She was clearly an Obama supporter and used her show as a platform for him. I don’t care because her show and magazine have sucked for the past few years. Palin should have more important things to do with governing Alaska then to appear on this worthless show. Maybe if Oprah dragged herself up there. She should have enough excess to make it through the cold Alaska weather without starving.
Jan 9th 2009
It’s a shame people say one thing and do another….personal integrity has gone out the window this day and age
Jul 17th 2010
The writer is right on the money with this article. It is disturbing how few of the comments reflect the views of many mainstream conservatives.