Blog Post 2: Role Modelling and Media Effects

Our group has decided on one of the richest yet inspiring woman on this earth, and that is none other than Oprah Winfrey. Born on the 29th of January 1954, she spent her childhood years living in her grandmother’s farm and her grandmother taught her how to read at an early age. She soon began to recite poems and Bible verses in local churches. At the age of nine to thirteen, she was constantly molested by a family friend and also relatives when her mother was not around at home. So when she turned fourteen, she was living alone and eventually got herself pregnant. Unfortunately her son passed away shortly after birth. Oprah then went to Nashville, Tennessee to live with her strict father, but the discipline paid off.  She was crowned the title “Miss Black Tennessee” and was offered a job at a radio station called WVOL. Oprah was also offered a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. She eventually left school and pursued her career with a local television station as a reporter and anchor. After co-hosting a few talk shows, she stuck with her own talk show – The Oprah Winfrey Show. She discusses about the lives of many who are in desperate help and aids them to a better life. Her talk show can often bring viewers to tears as it shows that although sometimes life can seem so cruel, the world can actually be a beautiful place.


Oprah Winfrey has been involved in numbers of controversies due to her line of work. During 2nd of January 2007, Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls opened in Johannesburg. Iconic people like Nelson Mandela, Tina Turner, Sydney Poitier, Spike Lee and Oprah herself attended a lavish opening ceremony celebrating the landmark boarding school. The school costed $40 million of Oprah's money. Within a year, 6 of the 152 students picked by Oprah herself attend the institution came forward to accuse dorm matron Virginia Tiny Makgobo of sexual and physical abuse. This case has caught a lot media attention in South Africa. In the end the dorm matron was removed from the school after numbers of trials and hearings. Young people tend to follow Oprah’s behaviour in helping the less fortunate. She has inspired many through her talk show especially the young people. Oprah Winfrey makes money from the shows and donates it charity, it’s a good example for the young people. Her early life was filled with bad memories but it was never an excuse for her and she grew from those experiences. Aspects of Oprah’s behaviour made her a role model for the public. 


In 1983, Oprah managed to host a low-rated half-hour morning talk show called AM Chicago. Within months after she took over, the show boosted from last place in the ratings to overtaking a well-known show named Donahue as the highest rated talk show. Critic Rodger Ebert’s television show - At the Movies got renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and expanded to a full hour.  Winfrey's syndicated show brought in double of Donahue's national audience, displacing Donahue as the number-one daytime talk show in America. So why did Oprah wanted to start on her own? Her goal in life is to live out the truest expression of herself as a human being. For her, it’s equally important to pay attention to the audience because they would express thoughts that are meaningful, worthwhile, and of substance.


  Due to Oprah’s enormous success, she has started her own book club, magazine (“O” Magazine), and a talk show. She is also responsible for one of the Three Christmas Kindness in The Nelson Mandela Foundation. She also supported other foundations such as The Moorehouse College, The Harold Washington Library, The United Negro College Fund, The Tennessee State University Fund, The Nelson Mandela Foundation, and Christmas Kindness. Just then, Oprah has become a philanthropist. Sometime later, she started a school in South Africa named The Oprah’s Leadership Academy. She wants the students that attend her school to grow up to be Africa’s future leaders. Oprah has become not just a philanthropist, but a hero in the children’s heart.



In conclusion, why is Oprah Winfrey our chosen idol? It is indeed rare to find a person so strong and proud despite her tragic background; someone who is able to bring out the best in others. She has showed that although a person goes through a lot of hardships, they are able to climb up that ladder once more.  As Vanity Fair said, "Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope.” Without doubt, Oprah Winfrey is our idol; an idol that has made a difference for herself, for her people, for her followers but most importantly for the world.

Post by:
1. Writer: Wong Shu Faye & Au Yang Yong Han
2. Editor: Isabelle Ku
3. Researcher: Alex Low & Amy Loh


Refrences of background and achievements of Oprah Winfrey are found from: Here & here.
Pictures and the video are found on Google.com and YouTube.com

Blog post 1: Our Favourite Television Programme.

The mass media has played an important role in our daily lives, it has the ability to shape and change the culture for which it is produced. The media is a cultural storyteller, for example the CBS Broadcasting Incorporation has portrayed in the American sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, how 5 friends go through life on a daily basis in New York City. The sitcom has reflected the typical American lifestyle and scenarios that may occur in American society. For instance, the 5 main characters go the same bar every alternate day to catch up; not to forget sitting in the exact same spot every single time without fail.

It becomes effectively relatable to the audience as each character portrays a different role in life. For example, Ted is the type of person who is constantly searching for the right one no matter what the consequences. Just like everyone else in the world, as it begins in high school till mid thirties, Ted dreams of settling down with the one. The audience can easily relate to the emotions portrayed by Ted as he’s the narrator of the series. The will to find happiness strives in him; no matter how he struggles, he never seems to lose hope on finding love. An example of a scenario, Robin as one of the female main characters plays a huge part in one of Ted’s struggles at the early age of the sitcom.

For another value, Barney plays the character of an optimist. His confidence tends to inspire a part of the audience in their own daily lives when they witness how Barney is constantly confident in himself and in getting what he wants. Barney leads the life of a person who doesn't care much about others’ feelings; he focuses more on what pleases him and the one that matters to him. There are many people out there who are able to relate to Barney Stinson. Maybe not completely but they are able to understand the message being delivered to them which pleases them because it is like their own story being told and heard by a huge audience.

As a reflection to the American families, Lily and Marshall play the family oriented roles in the group. Whenever one of their friends have a problem, the audience will tend to see Lily, Marshall or both of them together being there to consult them from wrong to right; making their friends see the reality that they missed out. They also portray family complications among their in-laws that may be related to viewers who may face the same problem as well. Being in a country like Malaysia, we are highly known for being family oriented which allows us Malaysians to relate more to Lily and Marshall as a family instead of as an individual. They also play the role of a developing family which shows a lot of affection towards each other. For example, Lily and Marshall always face problems that require them to compromise in order to solve it in one piece.

In conclusion, mass media production plays a really big part in influencing people through their productions. As a fact, at the end of every episode in the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ series the writer incorporates a moral value or more of a life lesson to the audience which makes them think more about life itself. It also influences a person’s perspective at certain situations. It is also amazing how CBS managed to maintain the humour in the sitcom while delivering messages and moral values to the audience effectively and proving that the audience are easily influenced by the mass media production which helps the audience find a temporarily closure.

"If you’re looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality, and wanting them to have everything they want no matter how much it destroys you, it’s love. And when you love someone, you just-you, you don’t stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes and call you crazy, even then. Especially then. You just-you don’t give up. Because if i could give up, if I could just, you know, just take the whole world’s advice and-and move on and find someone else, that wouldn’t be love. That would be some other disposable thing that is not worth fighting for. "

-Ted Moseby, How I Met Your Mother S9E17

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Post by:


1. Writer: Amy Loh & Alex Low.
2. Editor: Au Yang Yong Han.
3. Researcher: Wong Shu Faye.


Sources of the pictures and videos are from Tumblr and YouTube.