(2007-1287-F) Oprah Winfrey - Talk Show Host and Television Producer

The materials in FOIA 2007-1287-F are a selective, not necessarily all-inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA request 2007-1287-F contains records concerning Oprah Winfrey. This collections consists of birthday cards to Ms. Winfrey from President Clinton; requests for the Clintons and White House staff to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show; congratulations sent to Ms. Winfrey for being awarded by charitable organizations for her work on behalf of children and literacy; recommendations from the public for President Clinton to award or appoint Ms. Winfrey to various positions; and schedules, arrangements, and background materials concerning First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in May of 1995. Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 1954. She moved to live with her father in Tennessee at the age of 14, where she excelled in school and became an honor student. At 17 she was offered an on-air job at WVOL, a radio station serving the African American community in Nashville, TN. At the same time she was awarded a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. She majored in Speech Communications and Performing Arts. After graduating she worked as both a television news anchor and talk show host. In 1984 she moved to Chicago to host the show AM Chicago, which a year later was renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show, which quickly became the highest rated talk show on national television. Her show has won numerous awards, is one of the most viewed and highest rated programs of all time. Ms. Winfrey is also the president of Harpo Productions which oversees not only her show, but many other programs, movies, and theater productions. She is also on the board of the Oxygen television network. Ms. Winfrey is generous philanthropist and children’s advocate. She testified before a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of a National Child Protection Act, which President Clinton signed into law in 1993. She announced in 2010 while being interviewed by Larry King that 2011 would be the last year of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Ms. Winfrey has been noted as the highest-paid performer on television, the richest self-made woman in America, and the richest African American of the 20th century. The White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Subject file contains correspondence between President Clinton and Ms. Winfrey; schedules, talking points and background information for events where Ms. Winfrey was in attendance; request for White House staff and the Clintons to appear on Ms. Winfrey’s television show; and testimony, comments, and correspondence concerning Ms. Winfrey’s work on H.R. 1237, “The National Child Protection Act of 1993.” The White House Staff and Office Files contain mostly First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s schedules, background materials, and talking points for her appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in May 1995. Mrs. Clinton’s visit on the show was to discuss children’s protection and advocacy.