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Reading List - On Role Models
How Oprah Built an Empire
I don’t think people understood how it was a ministry. Now people just talk about, “You’re a billionaire.” I’m a billionaire because I bet on myself. Because none of those men — all men, all white men — ever, ever expected this show to be as successful as it was. Because they would have never, ever agreed to that percentage. I started out with 35% [ownership] … ended up with 92%.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
NEWS RELEASE
The double edged sword of success: Understanding Naspers and their Tencent investment
As they were leaving Beijing, Bekker was approached by two young men who had started an internet operation called Tencent, which was already signing up users at a remarkable pace. Against the decision to withdraw, Bekker took a gamble on 49% (sic*) of their company.
#334 Oprah
creating without limitations and adapting to outcomes
Oprah’s ‘Rags to Riches’ Journey
Interestingly, Oprah’s business decisions (based on her gut feelings) were often successful. Her decision to place run the table of contents of ‘O’ on page 2 was not common business practice.
How Oprah Went From Talk Show Host To First African-American Woman Billionaire
“On my own I will just create, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think I could do or be.”
A past/present rundown on Wolf’s interactions with NBC/Universal
A former advertising copywriter, he sees “Law and Order” as a brand. He tells his writers that the series should be like Campbell’s Soup: many different flavors, all of which are of consistent quality and predictable taste.
Running Our Own Race
One of our favorite sayings at CuriosityStream is that we’re running our own race. We are distinctly focused on building the highest quality, most expansive, and most thoughtfully curated portal to the world of non-fiction television and documentary films across science, nature, history, culture and beyond. We aren’t Netflix, we aren’t HBOMax, and we aren’t Discovery+. We make for a compelling complement alongside any of those and other general entertainment brands, and that’s a key to CurosityStream’s long-term success. We are a unique proposition, so that means we need to occupy a unique position in the market. While many streamers are spending tens of millions of dollars per episode on scripted fare and reality TV, we’ve built CuriosityStream around focused, high-quality content and smart scale – not around others’ view on what a streaming strategy should be.
Maury Povich is done with TV and he couldn’t be happier.
“Yes, there are some theatrics, and I accept it because I have a goal in mind,” he said. “I’ll take it because I’m looking for the truth.”
OH, NO OPRAH!
This is strange turf for Winfrey, who has enjoyed almost unchecked exaltation from public and press alike as she has, in almost 13 seasons in the national spotlight,
The Greatest Discovery of Oprah’s Life.
Claiming my own spiritual depths and encouraging others to recognize the fullness of their potential through spiritual connection is my greatest purpose and calling.
The quiet impact of Obama’s Christian faith.
In his late-night reply, Obama defended his belief that a woman should be the final “decision maker” and apologized for the overheated language on such a “profoundly difficult” subject. “It’s very difficult not to fall prey to some of that rhetoric,” he responded, “and it worsens in a long primary battle.”
THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
“She exploits human emotion and calls it depth.”
Professor says career ‘effectively ended’ by union’s transphobia claims | Higher education
“We have acted – and will continue to act – firmly and promptly to tackle bullying and harassment, to defend the fundamental principle of academic freedom, to support our community and continue to progress our work on equality, diversity and inclusion. We care deeply about getting this balance right.” Yes a vocal bullying minority is trying to impose its views but the adults are behaving like adults.
Arkansas governor who vetoed anti-trans law defends other anti-trans bills
As we have seen before, the anger of America’s voters does not always equate to recklessness.
A Jazzman’s Blues movie review
On a recent appearance on “The Today Show,” Perry said, “I had to be strategic in what I was doing before, so I had to make sure I had a hit after a hit after a hit, so this one I just wanted to take my time and do it at the right moment.”
A Jazzman’s Blues review – soulful Netflix drama is Tyler Perry’s magnum opus
So Perry took 30 years to build an empire. In the end, there’s no doubt it was the right move. If he had tried starting his career with Jazzman, the world probably never sees the film at all, let alone in this stunning, unadulterated form. Perry not only fulfilled his promise – you could call this his magnum opus. But (and I can’t believe I’m writing this) his best might indeed be yet to come.
Trump’s march back to power has faltered. Now comes the real challenge for the global left
American democracy is flawed and under threat. But an overlooked virtue of well-rooted democratic political systems, not just the US version, is that they rarely produce catastrophes, even if sometimes they can come close. The midterms were just such a non-catastrophe.
A doctor told Oprah to ’embrace hunger’. How it changed her view of medicine forever.
“Overall, I was able to adjust because I have the ability [and] really strong sense of being in this present moment and living this moment without having to worry about the next. You can do that when you don’t have to worry about where your next paycheck is coming from. I didn’t have to worry about, “Am I going to have rent? Am I going to be able to get food? Am I going to be able to keep the lights on and am I going to be able to take care of my children?” And I make no apologies for it. Because I worked to earn it. Nobody gave it to me, I didn’t have a father that took over the business or a husband who left me money, or uncles who helped me. I feel completely responsible for having created the life that I have and also equally grateful and blessed for it.”
