America 1982-Chapter 184 - 70: I Should Be Shot_2

"I guess I’m somewhat like you. After I got the admission ticket to Stanford, my love for knowledge was no longer as pure as it was in high school."

Oprah looked at this fellow who had shown a keen interest in her from the beginning and couldn’t understand why he was so enthusiastic about her. Although she had won the Tennessee beauty pageant in her youth, she was now twenty-nine years old, and because she had been too busy with work to exercise, her figure had slowly become out of shape. It didn’t make sense for him to have any physical intentions towards her, but she couldn’t think of any other reason that would attract him.

All she could do was to politely make small talk, "Actually, when I saw you, besides reminding you of some things to pay attention to before the show starts, I had another question that made me curious. Is Lincoln High School in Warwick City, Rhode Island, also a bad school?"

"It’s the same kind of bad without any novelty, just like Lincoln High School in Milwaukee," Tommy said with a smile.

Oprah nodded, "Sounds like you’ve done some homework on the show, at least you’ve got a good grasp of the host’s background. Let’s talk about things to watch out for. This program is not an infomercial, so you can’t promote products. It’s a half-hour interview show where we’ll talk about your experiences, your sense of social responsibility, the troubles you encounter, and, of course, we’ll let the audience know that your company sells software, but not in the direct selling style."

"What about a script? I mean, do you have some pre-prepared answers to help guests handle some tricky questions?" Tommy asked after listening.

Oprah shook her head gently, "No script. That’s a new rule I made after I came here. The host can hold cue cards with questions and information, but guests get nothing. I want the audience to see the guests getting flustered by my questions — genuine reactions are more attractive."

"Are you sure?" Tommy was taken aback, "Without a script, aren’t you worried about the show’s pace suffering?"

Oprah looked at Tommy with some bewilderment, not understanding why he wasn’t worried about his own embarrassment but instead the show’s rhythm, "Yes, I’m sure, and not worried, because I’ll be controlling the pace."

"Ms. Winfrey, you don’t have a production company, right? You’re just working as a host for the TV station." To Oprah’s surprise, Tommy’s next question didn’t consider what he should be worried about but inquired about her job situation instead.

Although she didn’t know why he would be curious about her work, Oprah still answered truthfully, "No production company is willing to sign a black female talk show host; the industry is currently dominated by white men."

"Ms. Winfrey? Would you give me the opportunity to collaborate with you?" Tommy quickly asked with a look of joy upon getting a definite answer.

Oprah looked at Tommy as if he were an alien, her face full of smiles, "Tommy, I remind you, you’d better worry about your performance in front of the camera coming up. And, I like my job as a TV host and do not intend to switch careers to become a software salesperson."

"No no no, it’s not about selling software. It’s about me financing the establishment of a television program production company. You’d have shares in the company without investing any money. All you need to do is to keep up this talk show, and I will quickly gather enough funds to buy the national distribution rights for your show," Tommy said excitedly, rubbing his hands together, his gaze intensively on Oprah.

God still favored him, although he had lost Perot’s investment, at least he met an undiscovered Oprah. This opportunity, like picking up money, he couldn’t miss it. Oprah didn’t need to do anything just continue hosting the talk show, which would later be renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show." He didn’t need to do much either. Just buy the national distribution rights, wait for this woman to make the show no. 1 in Chicago viewership, and when other stations come to buy the rights, just count the money.

No need for any special efforts because the previous production company also hadn’t invested in any packaging or publicity expenses. At the time, they just thought this black female host seemed alright and worth signing. They didn’t expect that this black lady could take the talk show to number one in America by herself. The company made a fortune just by selling the show to other TV stations nationwide.

Oprah furrowed her brows, looking quizzically at Sophia who sat beside her, "How long has he had a mental illness? Shouldn’t you guys take him to the hospital first, then find someone else to be the guest?"

"Don’t worry, he’ll be back to normal in front of the camera," Sophia said nonchalantly.

Oprah thought for a moment, then glanced at Tommy, who was staring at her, "Tommy, do you bite strangers?"

Tommy shook his head.

"Good, then I’ll see you during the show. You might want to take some medication first," Oprah said as she got up smoothly.

"After the show is over, we can talk about cooperation," Tommy sighed. Why was it so difficult to grab an opportunity? A little enthusiasm and urgency, and he was taken for a madman.

The thing is, who wouldn’t get excited about the chance to make tens of millions or even hundreds of millions just by reselling recordings of a show?

... 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

In the studio, Oprah was seated on a sofa, relaxedly addressing the live audience and the camera with her opening lines, "Welcome to ’Good Morning, Chicago’. I’m Oprah Winfrey, the host who just moved here, and I still need to introduce myself at the start of every show. Today’s guest has got me a bit excited because he’s a troubled young man. Of course, he’s not one of those black young artists you are familiar with, who have encountered troubles due to guns or drugs. He is a white youth, and do you get why I’m excited? White male, they rarely appear on our show, those troubled white males never before, perhaps thinking they wouldn’t want black audiences seeing their disgrace, only willing to show their gentlemanly side."