Oprah Winfrey Reveals How She Landed ‘The Best Contract Humanly Possible In Television’ – AfroTech
As a child, Oprah Winfrey understood she was destined for greatness.
While many are familiar with her industry start as a broadcast reporter turned television host, she initially aspired to be an actress. However, that was frowned upon by her father, she admitted on the “NXT Chapter Podcast,” hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes.
“I had to make a decision. I’m going to go to college, and I’m going to end up, I thought, teaching. I will teach acting,” she explained.
She then received a call during her sophomore year at Tennessee State University from a local television station, which she described as being divinely orchestrated. The station learned about her through a competition she had won in Nashville, TN. She was 16 years old at the time and the only Black girl in the contest.
At age 17, Winfrey began working as a part-time radio announcer at Nashville’s WVOL Radio Station. She became the city’s youngest and first Black female news anchor at a station, Poynter reports. She later became its reporter after graduating from college, her website notes. Her starting salary at WVOL was $22,000 and scaled to $57,000 by the end, she told Jakes on the “NXT Chapter Podcast.” She later co-hosted the talk show, “People Are Talking,” at WJZ-TV News.
Making Television History
By 1984, she landed a spot on Chicago’s Channel 7 television show, “A.M. Chicago,” according to her website. She replicated the talk-show format while making it her own, and the program became so successful that it was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” according to Ebony.
The show earned 47 Daytime Emmy Awards during its 25 years on the air, and Winfrey made history as the first Black woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show, per the outlet.
That wasn’t her only historic milestone tied to the show. Winfrey later secured a groundbreaking television contract after being cast in “The Color Purple.” To take on the role in the 1985 film, Winfrey agreed with her boss at “A.M Chicago” to give up her entire two-week vacation. It was her attorney who advised against the practice moving forward and opened doors for her to have more ownership in her media career, she shared on the “NXT Chapter Podcast.”
“He said, ‘You never want to be in the position when there is something important to you to do where you can’t do it. So, are you interested in owning yourself?’ And I said, ‘Sign me up for that.’ And he said, ‘Well, if you’re going to take ownership of yourself, it means you have to also take the risk that if it doesn’t work, then you won’t get paid.’ I said, ‘I believe enough in myself to know that somewhere on the other side, I will get paid. So, I will take less now and in order to get more later,’” Winfrey shared on the podcast.
Her attorney’s guidance ultimately helped Winfrey own 93% of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Winfrey’s track record of ownership only continued. She launched Oprah Daily, formerly O, The Oprah Magazine, in 1999, per Poynter. In 2011, she launched her own cable channel, The Oprah Winfrey Network, which houses shows such as “Ready To Love,” “Love & Marriage: Huntsville” and soon “Maxxed Out.”
