I heard on the local news yesterday that Oprah will telecast her last show on her new network...she is one smart cookie...
And Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil are joining her on the network...

I wouldnt mind flying around in a plane flown by Travolta...as long as he's not dancing in the aisles when he's supposed to be flying the plane.

This entire thing is a marketing strategy and has nothing to do with personal generosity nor with the trauma of paying income tax. If someone doesn't see it as a terrific opportunity, they are certainly welcome to decline.

This society of ours has the most bizarre sense of entitlement. The government and tourism bureau of Australia is footing the bill for publicity in this, their most avid tourism market. Instead of going to the expense of buying mountains of airtime and organizing some kind of contest, they went to one of our nation's leading media vehicles— Oprah. Think of her as the mule hauling the load for Oz. Our media dotes on every breath she takes and will exponentially grow that publicity for free.

Simply put, it is smart marketing and boo-hoo for anyone who can't find a way to attend, it's not a gift, it's an ad.



Well, as a non-fan of Oprah, I do know and admire that in 2009 alone, she personally gave over $41 MILLION in charitable giving. In addition to that, her foundations have given away many, many $millions and we are only talking about what her left hand & the media saw her right hand dong. If you read the Philanthropy Chronicles, you will see that she has also consistently been named in the top 50 of their prestigious Philanthropy 50 list. That list is comprised of the nation's all-around most generous givers.

Hey, Cinders, I like Oprah and used to love watching her show, in the old days. I haven't watched her in years though..... Borrrrrrring!

I know that she is a great charitible giver and laud her for that accomplishment. It's just my opinion that this latest scam/advertisement, put forth as part of her generosity, does not go down on her plus side.

The end..

NOTE: However, Australia is numero uno, in my book, now.

Okay, Sal, I'll see your point and raise you two:

1) Did anyone here actually watch the whole show in question? Did Oprah in fact, claim personal credit for this or did she disclose the rest of the story about the Aus government's sponsorship?

2) I read the whole article in Anne's link and it never mentioned the Aus government or tourism bureau one single time. That, to say it plainly, is irresponsible journalism. In 10 minutes, this lay person was able to ascertain the facts and find 3 credible sources to back up each one of them. Are we not all using the same internet?

It's brazen and unfair to assume that anything is true without looking into it. I maintain, good marketing, bad journalism.

Quite right AMN, but Hey I didn't intend to start a war!


I deliberately included the article I did because it was American. I thought you might prefer a home grown site to an Australian site, but alas........

Here's an Australian article that talks about the tourism angle.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/...914-15azs.html

This one talks about the $$$$ Australia will earn in the name of tourism because of Oprah's trip to Australia, because Oprah's telling everybody about Australia on her show.

Didn't some-one mention earlier how much it cost to advertise on Oprah's show? This means more in tourism $$$ to Australia than any ad campaign could manage.

And....... I still stand by my earlier statemant that this is a wonderful opportunity to visit Australia, at minimal expense to themselves, for 300 people who would never normally get the chance.

Oh, Anne, we're not arguing, we're trying to get a full grasp of the facts and discuss them with a little dash of opinion!

Are we fighting, Sal? I'm not fighting, I find the whole thing astonishing.

Anyway, I forced myself to wait through one of those embarrassing Hollywood speculation/gossip/half-truth shows to see the actual clip of Oprah's announcement. She definitely gave DIRECT and SUCCINCT credit to the Aussie government/tourism program as part of the announcement. I even detected a little excitement on her own part because she's going as well.

As I said earlier, this is a massive promotion by Australia and an ingenious publicity device. What they spend in accommodations for 300 +/- people will multiply so exponentially through American media exposure, no one could possibly factor a realistic profit margin.

What I have continuously heard in the headlines of several TV news stations is irresponsible reporting that insinuates that this gift is directly from Oprah. To me, these are deliberate lies of omission designed to fan the controversy flame in order generate an excuse for another headline.

This is one impressive campaign and I would LOVE to see Australia's before and after data!

One of the reports I heard also indicated that Australia had originally approached Ellen Degenerous with the idea, I won't perpetuate their rumor about why it ended up with Oprah, but let's be real, the woman is a money machine and everyone would love a piece of her.

Oh snap! I missed the whole thing. Sorry Anne, I wasn't in the audience to "win" anything so don't be changing any sheets for me. Although, that would be a fun trip. Maybe we could do it "cyberly." That would be kind of fun and much cheaper than Oprah's trip.

I don't watch Oprah or any of those day time shows. In fact, I don't even turn the tv on during the day. I guess I better start so I can see what I am missing. j/k

I visited Sydney back in my 20's. I was offered a free trip by a friend who worked as a stewardess for Delta. She said that if she paid for the ticket, would I come? It took me one second to respond YES! The four days we spent there were amazing, seeing a play in the opera house, visiting a kangaroo and koala zoo (I held a koala), driving up a coast, talking to some young men and getting them to take us to a drag queen show. I still smile about how the drag queens made such a fuss over the poor guys besotted by my beautiful friend and talked into seeing the show. Good memories. I still have a small opal ring I bought there as a souvenir.

Fighting? a-course not.
Come'er, Cindy..


Thanks for that info, Cindy....Oprah just got back on my plus side.