Results tagged “oprah”

The Great O addressed the rumors of a new cable network but her silence on the possible departure from Chicago for Los Angeles may have been just as loud. She confirmed the formation of a new network (OWN, short for Oprah Winfrey Network) but on the subject of the relocation, she told CBS 2 simply, "I am going to make that announcement soon. I am going to make that decision and make the announcement soon." And what of the numerous local jobs at Harpo, Inc? "They should not worry." Sooooo.. they're going with you? You're gonna compensate them handsomely when you ditch town? We guess it's just more wait-and-see.

Nikki Finke is reporting Oprah Winfrey is moving her show to the Oprah Winfrey Network by 2011, and will be moving production from Chicago to L.A.

It was bound to happen sooner or later: Sarah Palin, the Republican ex-girlfriend who just won't go away and stop posting on your Facebook page, is going to visit Oprah. You might remember a little over a year ago when rumors swirled about Palin appearing on Oprah ahead of the 2008 election and that Oprah said no due to her support for Obama, a claim that Oprah fully denied. This time, however, it's definitely happening as Palin makes the rounds to support her new tome, Going Rogue. According to a press release from Harpo, Inc., the "world exclusive" will be Palin's first talk ahead of the book release and the show will air live on Monday, November 16; Palin's book hits shelves the next day. Will we be watching? You betcha'.

Oh, to have been a fly on that wall: former world champion boxer Mike Tyson stopped in to see Mayor Daley this afternoon after appearing on Oprah this morning. He and Daley became acquainted a few years ago, and Tyson stopped in today to say hello and talk about youth violence with the mayor during a 30-minute private meeting. Tyson said he has a unique perspective on the subject because he grew up in rough parts of Brooklyn.

The city's loss of the 2016 Olympic bid isn't the only thing probably causing Oprah to cringe today. There's the news that the last year has not been financially kind to the big O. Yes, even Oprah suffers from the recession. According to this year's Forbes' 400 Richest Americans list, Oprah lost $400 million though she actually went up in the rankings (from No. 155 to No. 141). Overall, Oprah is worth $2.3 billion. [Sun-Times]

       

The IOC is all about pomp and circumstance, which is the only way to explain the opening ceremonies held Thursday night in Copenhagen. An opening ceremony for a vote? Sure, why not. Oprah, Mayor Daley, and Michelle Obama were among the Chicago delegates there while other members continued to spread out around town. The Trib has a running update of today's events.

     

If the series of delegates visiting Copenhagen on behalf of Chicago 2016 were like a concert bill crica 1986, then yesterday's arrival of the first contingent would be White Snake and President Obama's headlining appearance would be like Bon Jovi or Poison. Which makes today's arrival of First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah like...Cinderella? The pair of ladies joined the rest of Chicago 2016 today in Copenhagen to continue the wooing process.

The CTA has firmed up construction information regarding the long-awaited West Loop CTA stop that's going in at Lake & Morgan as part of the Green and Pink lines. The total cost for the station is between $35 and $40 million with at least $8 million coming from federal funding and the rest from TIFs. The CTA is aiming to begin construction on the new stop later this year with the station opening in 2011. The new station will be located between the Ashland and Clinton stops which are separated by more than a mile. We're curious to see if Oprah will ride the train to her Harpo, Inc. studios.

As expected, Oprah will be heading to Copenhagen as part of the Chicago 2016 bid delegation. Said Oprah in a statement, "I love and believe in Chicago, and I think it would be the perfect Host City for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games." Oprah joins First Lady Michelle Obama and Olympic and Paralympic gold medalists helping the Chicago 2016 team lobby for the Games. [Crain's]

While the Chicago 2016 team is fine sending the First Lady to Copenhagen in October instead of the President for the final Olympic pitch, they may get another high-profile boost from the city's other big name: Oprah. The Trib caught up with her in Toronto where she's promoting Precious at that city's annual film festival. When asked about her involvement, Oprah said, "There's some talk about it, and if I feel I can be useful there, then that's what I will do." Let the speculation begin.

        

Around 20,000 people showed up on a stretch of the Mag Mile to help Oprah film the season premiere for her upcoming 24th season. After all the arguments over how disruptive it would be versus how good it is for the city's image, it's all over. The Tribune reports things got a little hairy early in the day with people pushing and shoving at times, but for the most part, the event seemed to go off without a hitch and the city continued pushing this as a great marketing opportunity, not to mention something to pad the city's resume in the last push for the 2016 Olympic bid.

• He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.
• The Sun-Times looks into a fence that cost taxpayers over $45,000 but seems to have benefited Ald. Ed Burke (14th) the most by keeping those damn kids with their rock'n'roll music off his lawn.
• Jackie Heard, Mayor Daley's press secretary, is not amused with media reports suggesting she rented a house to drug dealers.

          

It's Oprah Day here in Chicago, with The Mighty O filming the premiere episode for her 24th season down on Michigan Ave. A few Chicagoist writers are out and about in the area and we'll have periodic updates from the scene of the party.

      

It's Oprah Day here in Chicago, with The Mighty O filming the premiere episode for her 24th season down on Michigan Ave. A few Chicagoist writers are out and about in the area and we'll have periodic updates from the scene of the party.

Don't forget that a segment of Michigan Ave closes tonight at midnight in preparation for Oprah's (controversial) episode taping. Check out a map of the affected area here [PDF]. The taping takes place Tuesday and the closed area will reopen early Wednesday morning.

When it was announced that Oprah would be shutting down a portion of Michigan Ave (between Ohio and Wacker) to shoot her 24th season premiere, we heard from many people not too happy about the move. And now at least one city official is getting cranky about the closure. Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Allen (38th Ward) told the Sun-Times, "Two-and-a-half days is kind of reckless. It smacks of elitism. The citizens own the street. Maybe they should ask the people how they feel." There's also some argument as to whether or not Oprah's folks were required to follow the usual protocol of giving 45 days notice to Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) who says they gave him 10 days notice. But Special Events spokeswoman Cindy Gatziolis told the Sun-Times this isn't classified as a "special event" and therefore didn't require 45 days: "This falls under the category of film and TV production. Those require a two-day notice. This has been much more than a two-day notice."

Oprah's throwing a party on the Mag Mile for her 24th season opener, filming next week. If you want to get in, "doors" for the celebration open at high noon next Tuesday. The portion of Michigan Ave between Ohio and Wacker will close down next Monday morning to set up for the taping, which gets underway at 5 p.m Tuesday. The show will also feature a performance by the We'll Work With Anyone Happy Funtime Band a.k.a. The Black Eyed Peas. Officials say Oprah and her folks are footing the bill for this party (a la the DNC for Obamapalooza) and that the mess will all be out of the way by 5 a.m. next Wednesday morning. [Crain's, NBC 5]

It's easy to overlook today's fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall along the Gulf Coast. Of course, it's been four years since the storm came ashore and the stories have faded into the background as the city of New Orleans and the smaller communities along the Gulf Coast continue the slow road to recovery, but there are still a few stories of local interest in connection with the anniversary.

It's hard to believe but we're just a hair over two weeks away from the new season of Oprah. The excitement is building here in the Chicagoist office for the Great O's 24th season of Jennifer Anniston and John Travolta interviews. Our pals at WGN pointed us to this video that Oprah's pals the Black Eyed Peas made. You know what song is infinitely more awesome than this and should have been used instead? This song.

If you've ever skim your email's spam folder before deleting them all forever, maybe you've seen emails about dietary supplements. Well, there's now a chance they're being sued by Oprah. The Great O has filed a federal trademark-infringement suit against dealers (around 40 in all) of dietary supplements and has even lent a hand to state attorney general Lisa Madigan who has filed three similar lawsuits. The problem is that Oprah pal Dr. Oz has given props to acai berries. But - as our spam folders can attest - there are legions of supplements that use acai berries and some have begun using Doc Oz and Oprah to sell their products even though neither O has ever officially endorsed a product. Given some of the scrutiny she's been under lately, we can understand why Oprah is cracking the whip.

• Gov. Quinn outlined today how he plans to cut $1 billion from the state budget, including job cuts and asking some employees to give up pay raises.
• A violent month is drawing to a close; so far, 225 people have been shot in Chicago in July with 42 of those being deaths.
• A suspicious package found this morning outside Oprah's Harpo Productions, Inc building was proved to be safe.

National magazine Newsweek has launched a volley against the Cult of the O. In their June 8 issues, their cover story is, "Why Health Advice on Oprah Could Make You Sick," covering the issues revolving around the lifestyle advice Oprah dispenses to her readers. It's the most skeptical take on Oprah we've seen from a mainstream publication in a while.

• That teen cop impersonator may have tampered with his electronic monitoring bracelet before making off with a Lexus from a dealership.
• Gov. Quinn has fired controversial former Blagojevich aide Steven Guerra.
• State Representative Paul Froehlich is under investigation for allegedly making campaign promises in exchange for residents allowing him to place his campaign signs in their yards.

Chicagoist has learned that the Oprah Show is working on permits to arrange for the closure of Carpenter Street in front of Harpo Studios so that the season finale may be filmed in the street. About the final episode, a source said, “The theme of the show might be a summer BBQ with a well-known chef.”

In this week's Chicagoist Podcast, since we've seen a number of high-profile protests in Chicago over the past few weeks, Kevin and I thought we'd take to the air to discuss our experiences and our perspectives on the two No Games Chicago rallies we attended, as well as the more recent Tea Party.

Today is the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings and Oprah was going to run a special on the tragedy. It seems, however, that she's had a change of heart. Earlier this morning, the following message was posted on Oprah's Facebook page:

To Our Viewers: I decided to pull the Columbine show today. After reviewing it, I thought it focused too much on the killers. Today, hold a thought for the Columbine community. This is a hard day for them. --Oprah

• The "world" (well, 30,000+ followers at least) is awaiting Oprah's entry into the Twitter universe as the talk show queen will "tweet" for the first time live on her show tomorrow morning. Prediction: it will be something about french fries.
• Speaking of fries, an elderly Naperville couple traveling back home from their winter place in Arizona stopped for lunch at McDonald's in the middle of a wind storm, and the restaurant's giant sign blew over and landed on their car, crushing them.
• Tupac's got nothing on Al Capone -- more than 60 years after the infamous gangster's death, a song Capone wrote while in prison at Alcatraz is being recorded and released by a group of musicians. "Madonna Mia" is going to be the best $.99 we've ever spent on iTunes.

With a police picket and an anti-Olympics protest happening, you'd think city officials would be sweating how this all appears to the visiting IOC evaluation commission. And while they may be sweating a bit, they're pulling out all the stops to drown out the shouting and they've appealed to as high an authority as one can in Chicago: Oprah. On Monday, the IOC commission will dine with Oprah, an event which will also feature videotaped appearances by President Obama and Michael Jordan. Chicago 2016 Vice Chairman Mike Roberts said, "When you think about who're really leading this bid, you think about our president. You have the greatest mayor in America. You have the most influential person in the world, if you will, and that's Oprah Winfrey. She will be part of our dinner Monday night." We can think of at least one thing he got wrong. [Tribune]

In the nine years Oprah Winfrey's eponymous magazine has been in circulation, no one other than the media mogul herself has appeared on the cover. Michelle Obama will be the first person to share the cover with Winfrey in the magazine's upcoming March cover, hitting newsstands March 17th.

• Stick-em-up: a man robbed a Logan Square McDonald's today armed only with a stick.
• Police seized drugs and weapons as well as arrested Casey Crawford during an overnight raid at a condo apparently owned by Chicago Police Asst. Supt. Beatrice Cuello. Neither Cuello nor her daughter, who also lives at the condo, were suspected of any wrong-doing.
• A state appeals court has ruled jailed former governor George Ryan should be allowed to receive part of his pension. Ryan will receive $65,000 a year.