Why Oprah Winfrey Left Rev. Wright's Church | Newsweek Periscope

TELEVISION
A Drill Sergeant of Love
Jac Chebatoris 2/29/2008 12:00:00 AM
"Are you single?" she asks, by way of an introduction over the phone, and you can practically feel the wheels beginning to turn. In Patti Stanger's world, you might be just one date away from true love—and if it comes with a hefty bank account, even better. But that's the point, according to Stanger, founder and CEO of the Millionaire's Club, a matchmaking service in Los Angeles that helps wealthy men find the "women of their dreams." She's also the star of a show about her club on the Bravo network called "Millionaire Matchmaker," which documents Stanger at her passion-pursuing best—and sometimes worst. The series finale airs Tuesday, March 4, and Stanger promises there will be a "shocking proposal." Just don't expect it to be hers: like "the cobbler that has no shoes," as she refers to herself in one episode, Stanger isn't married.
The Election Gets D-Listed
Sarah Elkins 12/26/2007 12:00:00 AM
When Oprah Winfrey stumped for Barack Obama earlier this month, political wonks and book clubbers alike began speculating about the "Oprah effect." What kind of bounce, they wondered, could Obama expect from the Queen of Talk's endorsement? Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, was said to benefit from the backing of tough-guy actor Chuck Norris. Backing from high-profile celebs can help a candidate; at the very least they inspire fans to take a second look at the chosen politician. But a public endorsement from an adult-film star is a whole other kettle of fish. Check out some of the wacky D-lister endorsements of 2008 so far:
BOOKS
It’s Fiction—For Real
Malcolm Jones
Give James Frey some credit. If you had been humiliated by Oprah Winfrey on television in front of who-knows-how-many-million viewers, you might still be hiding under the bed. If your name became cultural shorthand for "man who invents lots of details in his memoir," you might change that name and permanently move to another country, preferably one that didn't carry "Oprah." But the author of "A Million Little Pieces"—the questionable memoir in question—is made of sterner stuff. In the wake of that public shaming two years ago, he picked himself up, got another agent, landed a new book contract and completed a novel, "Bright Shiny Morning," which is being published this month.
CHARITY
Oprah’s Big Enough Give
Kurt Soller
When the Oprah store debuted in Chicago last month, shoppers snapped up affordable cosmetic cases, dog leashes and other items emblazoned with the mogul's signature "O." But the best bargains were in "Oprah's Closet," a small, unadvertised section of the store that sells her previously worn designer clothes at cut-rate prices to raise money for her charity, the Angel Network. Oprah's red Manolo Blahnik heels, for instance, are just $300, about half the retail price for similar shoes at Neiman Marcus and a fraction of what other Oprah-touched items have fetched at open auctions. Nice—but the gambit does raise a tiny ethical quandary: if she's doing it for charity, is she obliged to maximize the return? Or is it OK for her to engage in charity-lite if it helps less-affluent fans get a piece of the action? Don Halcombe, a spokesman for Winfrey's Harpo Inc., says it was "important to Oprah" that her castoffs be accessibly priced. And according to Noah Pickus, director of Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics, Oprah's in the clear. "She's seeking a balance between two things she sees as valuable: charity and a form of democratic experience," he says. "There isn't a contradiction here." Good to know. Still, it's too bad. At a 2004 charity auction, Oprah's Fendi sunglasses alone netted $2,000.
Hand-Tied by the Times
Howard Fineman
There is no easier TV "get" in Washington than Sen. John McCain. When Sunday talk-show bookers call, he always says yes—52 times to "Meet the Press" alone, a record for current officeholders. Last week, though, he was suddenly, categorically, unavailable. I asked his communications director, Jill Hazelbaker, whether her boss would be on. "Nope," she e-mailed, "Black doing Face." Translation: McCain's campaign would dispatch Charlie Black—lawyer, lobbyist, personal friend, top adviser—to appear on "Face the Nation." There, Good Soldier Black would presumably field permutations of the question raised by a blandly accusatory story in The New York Times: was McCain too close—way too close—to the capital culture of cash and clout he says he wants to reform? (That the unflappable Black was a well-tailored emblem of that culture evidently did not occur to the folks at McCain campaign headquarters.)
TELEVISION
The Real McCoy
Joshua Alston
Sam Waterston is sitting inside downtown Manhattan's City Hall restaurant, shooting a scene for what will become his 317th performance as tenacious prosecutor Jack McCoy in NBC's unsinkable crime drama "Law & Order." Today, his thespian pas de deux is with Jayne Atkinson; they're filming a type of scene that's among the show's staffs of life—the negotiation of a cozy deal in a cozy restaurant booth. For Waterston, 67, this has to be like tying a pair of shoes. Actually, like fastening a pair of Velcro shoes. But on this oppressively gray morning, Waterston is peppy, punchy even, as he and Atkinson, who's playing a politician, run lines from the script. "Have you ever heard of New Yorkers for Good Government?" she says. "No." "They want you to run for a full term in the next election." "They do?" "They admire you because you're not a politician." "So they want me to become one." "Ironic, isn't it?"