Here\u2019s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\n
Oprah puts the message first.<\/strong> From The New York Times<\/a>: The cable network OWN, which she started with Discovery Communications, is emerging from low ratings and management shake-ups…With signs of progress at OWN, Ms. Winfrey now has more time to devote to other media platforms \u2014 her magazine, her radio channel on XM Satellite Radio, her Facebook<\/a> page, which has 7.8 million subscribers, her Twitter account<\/a>, which has nearly 15 million followers, and her latest content channel on The Huffington Post<\/a>…\u201cI don\u2019t care what the form is,\u201d Ms. Winfrey said with the conviction of a preacher. \u201cI care about what the message is.\u201d…\u201cUltimately, you have to make money because you are a business. I let other people worry about that. I worry about the message. I am always, always, always about holding true to the vision and the message, and when you are true to that, then people respond.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Comment:<\/strong> I don’t always agree with Oprah’s politics but life is about more than politics.\u00a0 And, to my mind, she has been one of the more responsible providers of content out there in the media landscape. I\u00a0 appreciate her consistent overall efforts to utilize her many platforms to present wise and thoughtful messaging that can help and encourage people to live productive and fulfilling lives. A while back, following the final edition of her syndicated\u00a0 talk show, I blogged about the actual wisdom contained in that landmark program<\/a>.<\/p>\n Once again, the Top 10 excerpts from what she said:<\/p>\n 1. \u201cEverybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about the business of doing it\u2026You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 2. Each one of you has your own platform\u2026Maybe it\u2019s 20 people, maybe it\u2019s 30 people, 40 people, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your classmates, your classroom, your co-workers. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. That is your talk show, and that is where your power lies. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You\u2019re letting your life speak for you. And when you do that, you will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have\u2026Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to serve the world.\u201d” <\/em><\/p>\n 3. \u201cNobody but you is responsible for your life. It doesn\u2019t matter what your mama did; it doesn\u2019t matter what your daddy didn\u2019t do. You are responsible for your life. \u2026 You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you\u2019re responsible for the energy that you bring to others<\/em>.\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n 4. \u201cI would tell you that every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: \u2018Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?\u2026Try it with your children, your husband, your wife, your boss, your friends. Validate them. \u2018I see you. I hear you. And what you say matters to me.\u2019\u201d\u2018<\/em><\/p>\n 5. \u201cPeople often ask me, What is the secret of success of the show? How have we lasted 25 years? I nonjokingly say, \u2018My team and Jesus.\u2019 Because nothing but the hand of God has made this possible for me. \u2026 I know I\u2019ve never been alone, and you haven\u2019t either. And I know that that presence, that flow\u2014some people call it grace\u2014is working in my life at every single turn. And yours too, if you let it in. It\u2019s closer than your breath, and it is yours for the asking.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 6. \u201cI have felt the presence of God my whole life. Even when I didn\u2019t have a name for it, I could feel the voice bigger than myself speaking to me, and all of us have that same voice. Be still and know it. You can acknowledge it or not. You can worship it or not. You can praise it, you can ignore it or you can know it. Know it. It\u2019s always there speaking to you and waiting for you to hear it in every move, in every decision. I wait and I listen. I\u2019m still\u2014I wait and listen for the guidance that\u2019s greater than my meager mind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n