Friday, October 28, 2011

Business to Family, Winfrey and Pinkett-Smith Emphasizes a Vision and a Plan

Oprah Winfrey is an Entertainment Executive. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Harpo (Oprah’s name spelled backwards) Productions, Incorporated. According to the article, Academy of Achievement: Oprah Winfrey (2010), at the tender age of 17, Oprah was offered an on-air job at WVOL in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1976, she became a co-anchor on Baltimore, Maryland’s WJZ-TV News. While in Baltimore, Oprah co-hosted a talk show, People Are Talking, in addition to her being an anchor. 
This show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, which expedited to being the number one nationally syndicated talk show. Climbing the entertainment broadcasting ladder, Oprah Winfrey received numerous of awards for The Oprah Winfrey Show in its first year, specifically, the Broadcaster of the Year award. Winfrey was the youngest person to be granted this award. Not only did Oprah dominate the broadcasting side of entertainment, she also made a name for herself in film. Oprah became a Golden Globe and Oscar Award nominee for portraying the role as Sophia in the 1985 movie, The Color Purple. If this was not enough, Ms. Winfrey demanded her place as a businesswoman and entrepreneur in 1986 by founding her own production company, Harpo 
Productions, Incorporated. Time Magazine also named Oprah as one of the “100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century” in 2004. With that being said, Oprah has been measured as the highest-paid television performer, America’s self-made richest woman, the 20th century’s richest African American, and “the most powerful woman in the world” (Forbes, 2004-2011).

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Keith Sweat Formerly Known As John Crier

Near the infamous Apollo Theater, Keith Sweat was born in Harlem, New York on July 22, 1961 to Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Juanita Crier as John Crier.  Working as Macy’s clerk while pursuing his Communications degree from City College of New York, Sweat was on his way to stardom.  Although Keith worked in the New York Stock Exchange after earning his degree in 1983, he continued his venture in the world of entertainment as well.