Oprah in Australia

[Grumpy John]

Just like the tourism potential of Oprah's visit then ;)

OK, I'll stop now...:p

A quote from this (http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/09/14/oprah-winfreys-australia-trip-costing-taxpayers-down-under-3-m/) article.

Sensing there may be some backlash from taxpayers, former tourism minister John Brown has implored the media not to be "cynical about the cost."

"We spent hundreds of millions of dollars over 30 years without much effect, I must say that honestly," he said. "The publicity that Oprah will bring to Australia around the world is something you couldn't buy."

Hmmmmmmm

[wheelinround]

A quote from this (http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/09/14/oprah-winfreys-australia-trip-costing-taxpayers-down-under-3-m/) article.

Sensing there may be some backlash from taxpayers, former tourism minister John Brown has implored the media not to be "cynical about the cost."

"We spent hundreds of millions of dollars over 30 years without much effect, I must say that honestly," he said. "The publicity that Oprah will bring to Australia around the world is something you couldn't buy."

Hmmmmmmm


I have to agree 30 years doing what spending it on who and what lets see.:rolleyes:

Paul Hogan and 3 Aussie films
The biggest Bungle Bingle "So where the Bloody Hell did $30 mil get spent
So the American's can't stand Aussies selling their own country they (Australia) have to bring in an American to do it.:doh:

If Murdoch an American citizen ex- Aussie can't what hope have we.

I know we need the likes of "The Chaser" crew to come to the rescue of Oprah and all the people she brought with her, from the terrorists we have here. Poor Hick's he is so damn good.

[Wongo]

I wonder if she likes woodwork. :think: Lets google it. :D

[Greg Ward]

I bet she sits down a lot, a chance for you Scott

Greg

[silentC]

The publicity that Oprah will bring to Australia around the world is something you couldn't buy
OK, let's analyse this. According to Wikipedia, she has something like 6.2 million viewers each day (we can assume they are roughly the same 6.2m each day). Now to put that into perspective, that is just under 2% of the US population. I can't find figures on other countries, but I assume they're not going to be significantly higher than those in the US. So can someone in advertising tell us if that is a good reach or not? Doesn't seem like as broad a net as we're led to believe.

[Waldo]

I'd agree to that. I tried Googling Neilson and rating in the US talk shows but couldn't find anything. I'll keep looking.

[Greg Ward]

I think they also measure newspaper inches and TV new reports across the channels as well as well as mentions on radio programmes and articles in magazines and....

I think the actual numbers are around 45 million US viewers per week.... are they the same viewers per day x 7 days? I don't know

I am glad Wiki provided you with pages of notes and plenty of attachments, it appears to be having a calming affect on your obsession.

I think you all should spend more time in the shed, let Julia do the worrying over Christmas.

Greg

[silentC]

You're a condescending sort of bloke, aren't you Gregory?

You used the phrase "I think" three times there. Are you sure you're not over-taxing yourself, mate? :)

[Greg Ward]

I admit I have a problem.

I don't really like poetry that doesn't rhyme or doesn't have a structure, it appears lazy.

I don't like songs that rhyme words that aren't actual rhymes

I don't like using smilies, believing that words should be able to communicate my thoughts without their use. Perhaps I fail there as well......

Now.... damn, I've used 'I don't' three times as well...... now four

I think I'll go and count the cracks in the tiles in bathroom floor again to see if they are an even number.

Now back to the subject, don't know if you saw the headline in The Daily Telegraph
'Rock Oprah" with a photo of Ulahru... made me smile (sorry can't spell Ularu etiher, I can spell Ayres Rock)

Greg

[silentC]

The Daily Telegraph! Are you serious? Well, that explains everything. :)

(Sorry, the smiley is there so you know I'm pulling your leg. Just force of habit really, because some people aren't as good at picking up on subtlety as you and I.)

[Greg Ward]

Don't pick on me......... It's not nice and I really don't like it.

I only saw the headlines while I was browsing at Macdonalds. I never buy an Australian newspaper.
Normally (naturally) I only read those newspapers I subscribe to on-line, Guardian and the NY Times, and like Kev, the China Daily, in both the Manderin and Cantonese versions.

Perhaps if my son were here, he could teach me how to use those pesky smilies.

Greg

[Castaway]

Oprah who...?.:wink:

[RETIRED]

Play nicely children or the sandpit will be closed.:wink:

[Greg Ward]

Sorry.

Sometimes my mouth causes me problems, sometimes my actions, sometimes I'm just a smart a****

But this time of the year is well known as being difficult if marriage breakdowns and partner separations, murders and fights are measured.

And I shouldn't relieve my stress here.

I'll go and kick the dog next time.

Greg

[Lignum]

But this time of the year is well known as being difficult if marriage breakdowns and partner separations, murders and fights are measured.


And thats just on the Oprah midday tv show:rolleyes:

[kiwigeo]

Bit harsh. To say she has no talent is a fair way of the mark. To come from poverty as a child, to a billionaire and one of the most influential women in the world takes a fair bit of talent if you ask me. :)

Agreed she's started out rough and ended up making alot of dough but 50 years after she's gone who will remember her? If you measure success by how much money you've got in the bank then yes shes successful.

My heroes are people like Sir Edmund Hillary.....he didn't end up amongst New Zealand's top 50 wealthiest people but everyone knows his name and what he did to earn his fame. Not a bad efort for a humble bee keeper from Kiwiland. Granted he didnt come from poverty like Ophra but he had other personal tragedies to surmount such as the death of his first wife and one of his daughters in a plane crash in Nepal...an event that led to Ed's black years and a long road to recovery.

[kiwigeo]

I think Qantas is flying them for free, I'm sure most of the trip is paid for in some way or other.



Qantas is flying the audience.....Oprah is winging around Oz in her $50m private jet.

[Too Many Clamps]

Twas heart warming to see Joolya being booed at Fed Square.

[Manuka Jock]

Hey folks ,
looks like your place is just one big golden arch for Oprofits to flow in through



Oprah took 300 lucky audience members from her season premiere to Australia and is airing several shows leading up to their trip so her viewers can learn about the land Down Under. As part of one of these shows, an Oprah guest reporter, Carrie Bickmore, informs viewers that "hip" Aussies gather and socialize at McCafes, coffee shops that are part of the McDonald's empire.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. Or is there?
Bickmore, in a segment promoted as a "crash course in Australian lingo and culture" called McCafes "hip hangouts" and used their slogan "It's all a little bit fancy" to describe the chain, claiming it's where "guys come for business meetings [and] girls come for a catch-up over coffee." According to The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/when-oprah-educates-yanks-on-our-hip-mccafes-its-the-dollar-talking/story-e6frg8mf-1225966038233), McDonald's paid Harpo Industries for the spot.
Let me get this straight: Oprah takes 300 people to Australia, because traveling is part of a "best life" involving exposing oneself to different landscapes and cultures. That's the whole point of leisure travel, right? So in order to acclimate her viewers to the unique cultural offerings that make Australia Australian, she tells them about McDonald's coffee shops.
Four groups of people Oprah seriously off with this really lame conception of a show:
Her Viewers
Oprah gets paid for this. And does not disclose it on the show. A show rep only confesses when questioned by a newspaper. Lame.
Australians
Many Aussies are up in arms. The Oprah visit has been widely hyped by the Australian media, and they resent McCafes being presented as the best of what their country has to offer.
Coffee Makers

Coffee enthusiasts are particularly miffed, as Australia has a thriving coffee culture, due to the large number of Italian and Greek immigrants to the country, that certainly doesn't consider McCafes as their pride and joy.
Australian Restauranteurs
The Australian government, in an attempt to boost tourism to the country, is footing the bill for the trip, to the tune of AUS $5 million. In light of that, I'd be extremely upset that her shows didn't highlight Australia's culinary landscape.

Listen, I don't hate Oprah. She built her empire herself and seems particularly generous in leveraging her power into benefits for her viewers. I wouldn't turn down a free trip to Australia. However, women in American listen to what she has to say. They really listen. And when she insinuates that when you should travel, if you want to be like the locals, head to McCafes (or McDonalds, or any other chain you can experience here in the US) that's both irresponsible and just plain bad advice. Had she taken her viewers to Paris, would she bypass the legendary bistros and brasseries for McDo?
If you are fortunate enough to travel to a foreign country, do yourself a favor: ignore Oprah. Seek out what the locals eat where they eat it. You can visit the Golden Arches any old time ... here in America.
Do you think Oprah took an ethical and public relations nose dive with the McDonald's kerfuffle?

Did Controversial McDonald's Stunt Ruin Oprah's Credibility? | The Stir (http://thestir.cafemom.com/food_party/113429/did_controversial_mcdonalds_stunt_ruin)


Corporate America will be rubbing its mitts together big time

[silentC]

I love it. $5m (notice how it's gone up from the original $3m they told us they were spending) to tell Americans that Australia is just like the US! What an incentive to travel.

[Groggy]

So one company was smart enough to leverage the coverage and others were not, now they are whinging? Sounds like simple business manoeuvring to me. Of course, the more gnashing of teeth, wailing and pulling of hair, the more free advertising to Maccas. Don't we have something else of substance to be concerned with - like the current LN price reductions?

[Woodwould]

I love it. $5m (notice how it's gone up from the original $3m they told us they were spending) to tell Americans that Australia is just like the US! What an incentive to travel.
It's akin to Aussies going to Kuta in Bali. Apart from the unhygienic conditions, it could be any resort in Australia.

[kiwigeo]

Oprah in Australia...it's nearly as interesting as Shane Warne and Liz Hurley. :sleep2:

[kiwigeo]

Don't we have something else of substance to be concerned with - like the current LN price reductions?

Now THAT'S interesting!!! :2tsup:

[Woodwould]

Oprah in Australia...it's nearly as interesting as Shane Warne and Liz Hurley. :sleep2:

The difference is, I don't mind the odd glimps of Liz Hurley on the telly.

[Sturdee]

We've been hashing and rehashing the same thing over and over again ad infinitum. :((

Some are in one camp the rest in the other, but nothing that is being said will change the others viewpoint, so continuing this thread is a thorough waste of effort.

A bit like the old Friday drivel threads. They were deleted and so should this one or at least the sandpit should be closed.


Peter.

[witch1]

geez, i'm glad i'm not famous.......
......... I think?
only
witch 1

[Lignum]

Anyone see Hugh Jackman on the news… so lucky he didn’t kill himself or break heaps of bones

[chrisb691]

There's a lot of people that don't go for Oprah (I'm one), but there is an awful lot that do. She has an audience of 45 million in the USA, and her show goes out to 145 countries. So all up, she probably has an audience of something close to 100 million. A big percentage of her audience worships the ground she walks on, and she is standing in front of them and telling them they have to visit Autralia.

I personally think that $5 million is quite cheap for that sort of exposure, and tourism could get a big boost as a result.

To put it into context, the Lara Bingle campaign cost $180 million (if that number sticks in your throat then google it).

[Sprog]

So all up, she probably has an audience of something close to 100 million.
So many sad people, and that is for just one celeb :D:D

[silentC]

She has an audience of 45 million in the USA
This is not correct. According to a source quoted in Wikipedia, about 6 million people watch the show every day. The 45 million per week claim is based on the 9 million per day she was getting a couple of years ago, but it is not 45 million individuals, unless you think that a different 9 million people watch it every day.

It is probably the same 6 million, or near enough, every day. And it represents <2% of the US population.

They quote that figure in the media and people believe it. We're like sheep. Sheep, I tell ya!

[acmegridley]

When I told American forumites she was over here consensus was to take her out on a field trip and lose her:2tsup:

[Waldo]

:aro-u: Damn, we missed a great opportunity. :doh2: We would have been called Saviours of the Free World. :D (terrorism comes in all shapes and sizes)

[silentC]

When I told American forumites she was over here
What you mean they didn't already know she was here? I thought this story was going out to the whole world!!

(Anyone seen it mentioned in any foreign newspapers yet?)

[Grumpy John]

What you mean they didn't already know she was here? I thought this story was going out to the whole world!!

(Anyone seen it mentioned in any foreign newspapers yet?)

This (http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/the-uncanny-ouch-man-hugh-jackman-hurt-taping-oprah-stunt/?scp=2&sq=oprah&st=cse) was all I could find. And it wasn't even about Oprah.

[Bob38S]

Geeeez - I can just see all of these millions of people from 145 countries all eager to visit Oz just because Oprah said so - I'm sure that the private jet will be available and that the roads will be closed for their visits.

Tell you what - if they are so easily led or persuaded they may also be interested when I offer to sell them that big bridge in Sydney which is being scrapped or they may be interested in that big rock in central Australia which is being sold for road base.

Just call me and I can arrange for your deposits in my Nigerian bank account.

[silentC]

This (http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/the-uncanny-ouch-man-hugh-jackman-hurt-taping-oprah-stunt/?scp=2&sq=oprah&st=cse) was all I could find. And it wasn't even about Oprah.
Well, Hugh Jackman hurting his eye IS big news. He's the Wolverine!! Hmm, do you reckon it was a stunt stunt?

Oprah is on the front page of every Australian newspaper, but then we already know Australia is not in Europe :D

[Manuka Jock]

Do you reckon that this Aussie trip might be a damage control campaign to counter Kitty Kelly's biography of Winfrey ?

[acmegridley]

She's gone went and gave them a hand to push the plane out!:p

[Greg Ward]

She saved a lot of wife and husband and kid yelling and dog kicking by allowing those with seasonal stress to vent their spleen on this forum and in the papers and on the radio.

Now it will be back to politics and the banks again and to ranting on 2GB and 702 with James Valentine and writing letters to the editor about the cricket team

I know a lot of you will miss her daily presence, but you can always catch her on channel 10 if you need a pick-me-up to ginger up your day again.

Greg

[silentC]

So what are the topics of conversation around your place these days, Greg? Enquiring minds would like to know.

[Greg Ward]

I actually do have 2 dogs to kick in Sydney, and around 200 head of cattle in the bush that kick me, to so I don't need to talk much.

Greg

[silentC]

It's sad that you equate talking with being kicked, mate. And expressing an opinion with venting of the spleen. Argument, even about silly things, is good for the soul I reckon.

Sadly Oprah is about to be overshadowed by another illegal immigration debate I fear.

[Greg Ward]

Yes, death from a far distance (if any do indeed drown) isn't really illuminating and I agree this will spiral downwards.

Greg

[RETIRED]

Tourism bosses await Oprah windfall | The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/tourism-bosses-await-oprah-windfall-after-live-shows/story-e6frg996-1225971585571)


This thread will be closed on Friday.

[silentC]

Well let's hope they're not waiting in vain.

But here's my tip: in a few weeks time it will be forgotten and we will never hear of it again. Tourism will continue undisturbed and there will be another "Where the bloody hell are ya" within 2 years. You read it here first, folks!

[witch1]

,
couldn,t we have a special early closing to give us a chance to celebrate christmas?
could I suggest yesterday?:C
witch1

[Manuka Jock]

Whats with the closing the thread censorship carry on ?
Is this a Winfrey controlled website or something :U.

[graemet]

Tourism bosses await Oprah windfall | The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/tourism-bosses-await-oprah-windfall-after-live-shows/story-e6frg996-1225971585571)


This thread will be closed on Friday.

Why wait.

[cultana]

Oh heck you mean she has left our shores!:o
Oh woe I can not believe it.Oh so soon!

Please say its true please say she has finally left..:yippee:

[Bob38S]

It's sad that you equate talking with being kicked, mate. And expressing an opinion with venting of the spleen. Argument, even about silly things, is good for the soul I reckon.

Sadly Oprah is about to be overshadowed by another illegal immigration debate I fear.

Spot on! :2tsup:

Now bring on the banks - as for the "hired help" whom I would like to buy for what I think they are worth and sell for what they think they are worth - aka pollies - I need some more goodness for my soul :B

[jimbur]

Stopped at the Calder Raceway southbound on the way in to Melbourne and took particular notice of who went to the McCafe. Very few in fact and none of them seemed to be businessmen or bright young things. I thought I was going to proved wrong when an obvious businessman walked in, suit, tie and all, but he went straight to Kentucky Fried Chicken!
Cheers,
Jim