News

Oprah. The big O. The One. The Queen of daytime TV. Most important figure in the book racket. Most important figure in the diet racket. Creator of the Dr. Phil phenomenon. Creator of the Dr. Oz phenomenon. Creator of the Obama phenomenon, if you believe some people.

Actor. Executive producer of the movie Precious, already an award-winner and a good bet for a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Interviewer. Sarah Palin's biggest gig to promote her book is an appearance on Oprah next Monday.

So, little wonder that the question, "Whither Oprah?" gripped the TV racket the other day. There was a frenzy of speculation. As The Washington Post put it, speculation about the future of Oprah's daily show "gave The Reporters Who Cover Television the vapours."

But not just the TV racket or the people who cover it. Winfrey is the Berlin Wall of U.S. popular culture. You're on one side or the other. As admired as she is, Oprah Winfrey is also despised. Especially since she threw her influence and voice behind Barack Obama, she's been a lightning-rod for anger. When news about her possibly moving her daytime talk show to her own cable channel (called OWN, for Oprah Winfrey Network), the comments sections attached to news stories online became fascinating reading - an instant insight into how divided Americans are right now.

Here's a sample from Deadline Hollywood, a blog usually read mainly by Hollywood-insiders. "Her ego got too big for her brain. Something she has in common with Barack Obama. Good riddance!" "She's still an arrogant harpy." "Her public expression of her political views was the nail in the coffin." "Who cares ... as long as she just shuts up."

The gist of the news story is this: The current contract with CBS, which distributes The Oprah Winfrey Show (CTV, Monday to Friday, 4 p.m.) in syndication, will expire in 2011, and the rumour is that Winfrey is ready to abandon conventional TV and produce her show solely for the OWN network.

On a mundane level, this is actually huge news in the TV racket. The Oprah Winfrey Show is watched by a little more than six million people daily in the United States. (The show's weekly average on CTV is 627,000.) That's more than many prime-time dramas or comedies get. It's more than The Jay Leno Show gets on many nights. Winfrey's is the No. 1-rated daytime talk show in the U.S. Without it, many local stations would lose their biggest daytime viewer-grabber.

But on another level, the issue is Oprah Winfrey herself. In December, 2007, when Senator Barack Obama was considered a long shot, an absolute outsider in the race for the Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States, Oprah Winfrey went to Des Moines, Iowa, and started campaigning for him. Some 18,000 people turned up. Eventually, Winfrey pulled back from such blatant campaigning, but her influence was noted. During the election campaign, Maureen Dowd of The New York times wrote of Winfrey, "She is the top alpha female in this country. She has more credibility than the president."

And it's not just her political intervention that put people on one side of Winfrey or the other. She embodies an intellectual curiosity and a generosity of spirit that defines her as "liberal" in the widest sense of the word. This is someone whose philanthropy and emphasis on the reading of books have been a core part of her rise as a TV star, creator of a media empire and rise to extraordinary wealth. For a lot of Americans that sort of thing is mad, bad and dangerous.

In spirit, in wealth and influence, Winfrey is huge. And some people of smaller spirit and generosity, just want her to go away. Winfrey's show can change channels or networks, but some things never change.

Check local listings.

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Airing tonight

CSI: Miami (CBS, CTV, 10 p.m.) kicks off a good old-fashioned November sweeps stunt tonight - a crossover. Things start with a severed leg, happens on all CSI shows. In Miami, Horatio Caine (David Caruso) calls for Dr. Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) to mosey over to Miami when a leg discovered in the Everglades is found to belong to a woman who went missing in Las Vegas. On Wednesday on CSI: NY, Langston goes to New York where detectives believe they have an important witness connected to the Miami and Las Vegas mysteries. On Thursday, Langston is back in Vegas where the investigation leads to a local prostitution ring. Got that?

Great Performances: Andrea Bocelli Live in

Tuscany (PBS, 9 p.m.) has that nice Bocelli in the village in Tuscany where his family still farms. On a local hill, a special theatre was constructed for a concert featuring his popular hits and new material. Joining Bocelli are Kenny G., trumpeter Chris Botti, pianist Lang Lang, Italian pop star Eliza, Sarah Brightman, Heather Headley and Laura Pausini. No severed legs. No brooding dudes in sunglasses. J.D.