The Age of Oprah: Cultural Icon for the Neoliberal Era (Media and Power)

The Age of Oprah finished third in the Frank Luther Mott-Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism & Mass Communication Research Award for books published in 2008. Read more about the award here.

Over the last two decades Oprah Winfrey’s journey has taken her from talk show queen to – as Time Magazine has asserted – “one of the most important figures in popular culture.” Through her talk show, magazine, website, seminars, charity work, and public appearances, her influence in the social, economic, and political arenas of American life is considerable and until now, largely unexamined. In The Age of Oprah, media scholar and journalist Janice Peck traces Winfrey’s growing cultural impact and illustrates the fascinating parallels between her road to fame and fortune and the political-economic rise of neoliberalism in this country. While seeking to understand Oprah’s ascent to near iconic status that she enjoys today, Peck’s book provides a fascinating window into the intersection of American politics and culture over the past quarter century.