It was a "mascara runnin’ kinda day": Oprah Winfrey, confession, celebrity and the formation of trust

Wilson, S. (2007) It was a "mascara runnin’ kinda day": Oprah Winfrey, confession, celebrity and the formation of trust. In: Bakir, V. and Barlow, D., eds. (2007) Communication in the Age of Suspicion: Trust and the Media. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 167-176. ISBN 978-0230002548

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Abstract

Oprah Winfrey is a very popular figure in contemporary American culture. Often described as 'authentic', the chapter explores the ways in which Winfrey deploys confessional practices on her TV talk show as a means to engender trust.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	Wilson, Sherryl. It was a "mascara runnin’ kinda day": Oprah Winfrey, confession, celebrity and the formation of trust. 2007 Palgrave Macmillan reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan. This extract is taken from the author's original manuscript and has not been edited. The definitive version of this piece may be found in Communication in the Age of Suspicion: Trust and the Media edited by Vian Bakir and David Barlow, which can be purchased from www.palgrave.com. This chapter updates and extends the analysis of Oprah in Wilson's book, situating it within the wider context of reality television and the climate of suspicion leading up to the 2004 American Presidential election. It resulted from a paper given at the 'Communication in the Age of Suspicion' conference held by Bournemouth University in February 2004. In his review of this book Joseph Burridge selects Wilson's chapter as one of three which 'stood out': 'Sherryl Wilson's account of Oprah Winfrey's claims to ordinariness and her reduction of the 'otherness of others' allows some insight into what we might choose to call the rhetoric of trust, which definitely merits further exploration in similar contexts' (http://www.fifth-estate-online.co.uk/reviews/communicationintheageofsuspicion.html).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	trust, suspicion, confession, TV talk show, Oprah Winfrey, authenticity
Faculty/Department:	Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries and Education > School of Art and Design
ID Code:	10799
Deposited By:	Dr S. Wilson
Deposited On:	16 Aug 2010 10:25
Last Modified:	13 Aug 2013 21:04