Oprah’s Morning TV Face-Off with Gayle King

So much for friendship! ABC Network announced a bevy of big names –including Oprah Winfrey - will be filling in for Robin Roberts while the “Good Morning America” host takes an extended medical leave.

Did Oprah forget that her best friend, Gaye King, hosts the CBS Morning show?  I guess  nothing stands in your way when you’re trying to boost the ratings for your network.

Robin Roberts, who is battling the rare bone marrow disorder MDS, began her leave on Thursday. The show devoted its second hour to her, and during that time, announced some of the people who would take over from Roberts during her absence. It’s not clear how long she will be gone, though her treatment will take at least some months.

ABC News is drawing from its extensive stable for some of its guest hosts. Diane Sawyer, Amy Robach, Elisabeth Vargas, Katie Couric and Barbara Walters will all do stints.

What fruits and vegetables do  you like to eat to stay healthy? The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic plays his newest food game, Serve, Taste or Trash to reveal the world’s most loved and hated foods.

Meet Mr. Divabetic on the red carpet at  Central Farm Market in Bethesda, MD, Plus Night Out NYC, New York, NY Divabetic – Makeover Your Diabetes in Philadelphia, PA the American Diabetes Association Expo in Pittsburgh, PA and the Taking Control Of Your Diabetes Health Fair & Conferences in San Diego, Ca and Austin, TX in Fall 2012. For more glitter, games and glucose advice visit: www.divabetic.org Original music by Douglas Clay: www.douglasclaymusic.com

LISTEN NOW: Free Diabetes Podcast Inspired by Katy Perry  
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2012/07/10/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-katy-perry

 

Oprah Personally Decided To Cancel ‘The Rosie Show’: Ouch!

According to The Daily Beast, Oprah visited Rosie O’Donnell in her studio before she made the decision to cancel the show. After visting Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” set, which is modeled after host Andy Cohen’s den, O’Donnell decided to scrap her show’s entire look and replace it with something more intimate. When Oprah visited O’Donnell and the new set, staff members described the meeting as “awkward.” Earlier this month, O’Donnell put her Chicago home on the market and was moving the show back to her home, New York City.

“Rosie” came to a quick end after poor ratings, multiple format changes (we witnessed at least 4),  staff clashes, and more. While low ratings and “Rosie’s” fickle formats were obvious, Oprah’s personal involvement in ending O’Donnell’s run was rather surprising.

Additionally, the Daily Beast reported that O’Donnell’s clashes with her staff were quite severe. A former employee described the work environment as a “hell hole.”

O’Donnell will tape her final show on Tuesday, March 20, which will air on Friday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Oprah Lands Interview with Bobbi Kristina

Oprah Winfrey has snagged an exclusive interview with Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, for Oprah’s Next Chapter airing Sunday, March 11 at 9 p.m.

In addition to Bobbi Kristina, Winfrey will speak to Houston’s sister-in-law and manager Patricia Houston, and brother Gary Houston.

According to a release from the network, “Bobbi Kristina shares personal memories of her mom and how she would like the iconic superstar to be remembered. The family also addresses the rumors and speculation surrounding Houston’s death.”

Before the interview at 7 p.m., OWN will re-air its special, Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Interview, which features the singer’s 2009 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Winfrey’s own personal memories of the star.

Oprah: She’s Back!

Divabetic: Oprah's Next Chapter

Seeing a bit of positive ratings movement, the struggling Oprah Winfrey Network is getting more of what seems to work — Oprah.

She’s back!!! The network revealed Tuesday that Winfrey’s “Oprah’s Next Chapter” would expand from one to two nights a week, starting next weekend, and run that way through February.

The two-night approach begins with a piece on a trip Winfrey took to Haiti with Sean Penn to run Sunday and Monday.

“Oprah’s Next Chapter” is Winfrey’s latest series since her talk show went off the air last spring.

It’s landed just in time for the struggling network.

In the series, Winfrey visits people on location for in-depth interviews. The show has turned into OWN’s most-watched program of any kind, averaging 924,000 viewers.

“I think it is a good thing,” says ratings expert Brad Adgate of Horizon Media about the program’s expansion. “It seems that Oprah’s on-air commitment to OWN continues to increase as time goes by, and I don’t think that was something she had originally planned when the network was announced,” said Adgate. “How much more on-air time beyond this will she, or can she, do?”

OWN arrived in January 2011 to great fanfare and huge expectations. It also launched with a partial lineup of shows and little by Winfrey. At the time, her daytime talk show was still eight months from ending, limiting her ability to get on the air.

The most-talked-about show when the network began was a reality series that merely followed behind-the-scenes activities on Winfrey’s talk show.

Since then, though, the channel has been dogged by executive changes, programming shifts, weak ratings and a suggestion that Winfrey isn’t the draw she once was.

Moreover, Discovery, Winfrey’s partner on the channel, has invested more than $250 million into getting the network off the ground. To start OWN, Discovery gave up on Discovery Health.

Expectations for OWN may have been too high, with people believing everything Winfrey touched would turn to gold.

“We did overestimate it a bit,” Adgate agrees. “I think the landscape is cluttered with female-targeted cable networks and shows. They have failed to create a franchise show; it is difficult to program compelling content 24 hours a day. OWN has a niche in the TV landscape that could be a little smaller than originally anticipated.”

Queen Of Soul Slims Down In 2011

Divabetic: Aretha Slims Down in 2011

The ‘Queen of Soul’ aka  Aretha Franklin is known for being a larger than life star so fans were surprised when she unveiled a slimmer figure earlier this year at the  Grammy Awards.

The 68-year-old singer looked like she has shed a significant amount of weight after recent rumors she was suffering from a serious health issue.

Aretha Franklin addressed the rumors  about reports she had pancreatic cancer and said: ‘There was just so many wild things out there and just so many things being said that weren’t true… I just felt I needed to address it a little.’

‘I don’t know where pancreatic cancer came from, she states. ‘I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that.’

She clarified: ‘No one in my family ever said that to anybody.’

Aretha Franklin was not diagnosed with cancer, but became seriously ill – canceling a slew of concerts and appearances including the recent Grammys – due to complications surrounding a gastric bypass surgery procedure.

Several months later she came roaring back with a new album, “A Woman Falling Out Of Love”, a benchmark boxed set “Take A Look” (a compilation of all of her early Columbia Records work for the first time), and a stirring rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ on Oprah Winfrey‘s final show.

Although she did not state what the nature of her health concerns were, she did, however, offer a small clue about that surgery, saying that the weight came off “from the surgery that I had,” although she did not specify the procedure.

“But it definitely was not the bariatric or, what is it, gastric by- – Yeah, I can’t even tell you the correct name of it,” she says, adding, “It’s really not necessary to talk about one’s personal medical health.”

Rumors aside, Franklin says it’s not just about being lighter, but feeling lighter and having “more energy.”

“The doctor did say to me, he said, ‘Ms. Franklin, you are going to feel better than you have felt maybe in 10 or 15 years,’ ” she says. ” ‘The surgery that you had is going to add 15 years to your life.”