JCOM 2300: Oprah it's finally over

Oprah Winfrey announced that the amazingly popular Oprah show will cease production in 2011. There was an interesting article in PRWeek about her and the influence she has on a very broad audience. When it comes to getting some momentum behind your cause or your product nothing is quite like Oprah's seal of approval. If she backs what you got you not only get her support but the support of MILLIONS of viewers who use Oprah's opinion to help them decide where to shop, what to read, watch, or what cause to get involved in.

Losing the Oprah show signals the end of an era in influencing people. In the past someone like Oprah could reach a very large diverse audience. With the diversification of media, people now get their information from a variety of sources. Because of this the audience that can be reached through any one media outlet has greatly decreased. To keep up with the times PR professionals need to become familiar with opinion leaders in many different areas such as blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, and traditional media sources like TV and the radio. While each individual audience may not be as large you can still hit the all of the people and the targets you are aiming for if you know these different media outlets and who is influential and an opinion leader in each one of them.