From Rags To Riches: The Life And Times Of Oprah

Dominating Local Media

Photo by Bettman / Contributor / Getty Images

Oprah caught the attention of the local black radio station, WVOL, and began to do the news part-time during college. From there, she continued to work at a variety of different radio stations, eventually transitioning to TV. She even became the youngest news anchor and first black female anchor of Nashville’s WLAC-TV.

She moved to Baltimore in 1976 to co-anchor the 6 pm news. She was finally on primetime, but it didn’t last long as the station demoted her. Always resilient, Oprah bounced back by securing another co-anchor spot, this time on Richard Sher’s local daytime show.