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Wednesday, October 11,2000
Page It
THE BATTALION
aytime Television
}prah offers quality, socially usefulprogramming
prah Winfrey is ar
guably the most
powerful and in
auditors also dismis$et| uent * a * P erson ' n Ameri-
contention that the Ja ' P eo P^ e * lave
Service was awareofit!r« a * t * 1, P ovver, access t0
selling drugs to non-fc* P u ^ ic an ^ oveia H
that even if it weretn.l ustwor | hiness ! n the
service does not havetT s l * le P u ^^ c
to approve it. | ntre y does - 0ne thin 8
no employees said thet l mt w "ifrey that separates her from
ytion drug benefit wasu;l n y P ubllc f'gures is that she uses her re-
nerous and would be s0lirces t0 bave a positive affect on millions
of lives.
Jackson, a shuttlebusd'B^' I1 * re y' s i' 1 tl 10 Forbes-400 rich-
d he lost his medicalc e i P e °pl e i n tbe United States. With an esti-
le employed at Elcctn. Ini ed net worth of more than $800 million,
on years ago, said Jnfrey bas doubled her net worth in the
iree prescriptionsforcaif't four years. She ranks second in a list
nt. lithe world’s highest-paid entertainers,
re’s no way I could affo^pmh Winfrey has more money than 99
i for part of this stuff foei cent of her audience, but this does not
Jackson said. “I don'd ifect her ability to appeal to a wide range
do if the plan disappecipeople in many different stages of life.
:k said the Mashantude: Mnfrey does not have to act like an average
ider the inspector geneS son for the purposes of her show — she
e final word on the mattAn average person,
tribe has been able tofi This kind of down-to-earth attitude gives
of the best health planer more universal appeal than anyone else
a for its employees,”Hem television.
e’re going to continueloB Winfrey’s top-rated daily talk show at-
we can for our employnacts more than 33 million viewers a week,
e consider part of the nnd is broadcast in more than 119 countries
ses of health care." worldwide. She also owns her own produc-
ugh the inspector gettion studio, Harpo Entertainment Group,
rrt concentrated on There are no producers and editors backstage
tickets, it found reasotpulling the strings on her show; Winfrey has
he alleged abuse mayhe final say in just about everything,
icr tribes. p Few entertainers have as much direct
:ontrol over the way they influence the
— Mblic and even fewer entertainers use their
'influence in such a positive manner.
. n , ni,.! However, it is difficult to classify Win-
tamins in the 23jum rey s show as entertainment. In 1994, she
nrticipate in a separat^f d g ed t0 refocus he! ' show on uplifting,
meaningful subjects. Since her change in
wltzerland; BASF a format, her, success has been unmatched,
j Japanese compa^ a frey : 5tepped in to fill a void in tfie tele-
ltd., Eisai Co. and vision market. Daytime TV is littered with
part in the settleme'l
: BASF and Hoffman.
Bar to plead guilty,
. prisons for schemf
talk shows that glorify people’s problems,
ridicule the guests, and offer no solution at
the end of the show. The shows promote the
attitude that “My life may not be the great
est, but it is a lot better than those people’s.”
home,” Winfrey said.
In addition, Winfrey is a political force.
Last month, she hosted both presidential
candidates on her show. Interviewing
politicians is not the norm for Winfrey.
Winfrey takes an entirely different ap
proach. Her show takes the road less trav
eled by not only identifying problems in
society, but solving them.
“Now, our mission statement for ‘The
Oprah Winfrey Show’ is to use television to
transform people’s lives, to make viewers
see themselves differently and to bring hap
piness and a sense of fulfillment into every
31
Traditionally, Winfrey has shied away from
any involvement in the political arena. She
normally uses her show to concentrate on
humanitarian issues and problems by help
ing people help themselves.
Political analysts will agree that women
make up the majority of undecided voters
in this presidential election, and a candi
date’s ability to attract the support of
women will determine the outcome of the
election — Winfrey’s audience is 76 per
cent female. Many women use different set
of values when making decisions than men.
Ten years ago, it was unheard of for a
presidential candidate to sit down on a day
time talk show to discuss entirely “person
al” subject matter. When she invited the
presidential candidates to be on her show,
she decided to interview the candidates in
an entirely non-traditional manner.
“The intention [of this show] is to break
through ‘the wall’ of sound bites and ‘prac
ticed answers’ to reveal the real man so you
can decide who feels like the right candi
date for you,” Winfrey said.
As for the candidates, their appearance
on Winfrey’s show might have been the
most important interview of their lives.
Another example of Winfrey’s positive in
fluence on America began in 1996 when she
started on the on-air “Book Club.”
Designed to “get the country excited
about literature again,” according to the offi
cial Oprah Winfrey website, every book that
Oprah Winfrey has endorsed has become an
instant best seller.
Her first selection, The Deep End of the
Ocean ,went from a run of 100,000 copies to
more than 3 million. She has the means to
vault a little-known author to worldwide
recognition almost immediately.
Winfrey’s greatest attribute is that she
uses her show to promote philanthropy.
Winfrey created a program that has raised
more than $3.5 million to provide college
scholarships to students in need. She has
funded 200 Habitat for Humanity homes,
making it a point to have at least one in
every television market.
Winfrey should be commended for her
effort to make a positive change in Ameri
ca. She unselfishly uses her influences and
resources to improve society. Public role
models are most always rich in the finan
cial sense of the word, but none are as rich
in character as Winfrey.
Steven Gilbert is a senior speech
communication major.
ewfound Freedom
ecently freed Yugoslavia needs Western support to retain democracy
NICHOLAS
ROZNOVSKY
Y
t
rent
leven
years after
[the rest of
Europe’
Irew off the
lackles of au-
Joritarian rule
id turned to
smocracy, the
iopleof Yu-
islavia are fr
illy getting to join the party.
1 Over the weekend, protesters in
[he Yugoslavian capital of Bel-
fiade took to the streets to voice
pieir opposition to the negation of
tional elections by Yugoslav
ader Slobodan Milosevic. In a
fenzied scene reminiscent of the
st days of the Warsaw Pact, Yu
goslavs marched in the streets,
liptured the parliament house, and
ized control of the state televi
sion facilities. By the end of the
feekend, Yugoslavia had its first
pmocratically elected leader.
Although President Vojislav
iostunica has the support of the
iigoslav people, he will need more
overcome the obstacles facing
fs fragile nation and bring it into
s circle of truly democratic na-
[ons. It is imperative that the new
ugoslavian government receive
pport from the United States and
e West if it is to survive.
Kostunica knows that the future
fhis country is still very much in
|oubt. “Difficult times are behind
s,” he said in his inaugural ad
less on Saturday, “but the days
lead also hold many trials.”
He does, however, believe that
the Yugoslavians can overcome
their differences to secure peace
and tranquility.
“My deepest political belief is
that without democracy, there is no
prosperity,” he said later in his
speech. He also urged “people who
think differently [to] find ways to
live together in one society.”
Kostunica’s dream of one soci
ety will be extremely difficult to re
alize. Although the majority of Yu
goslavians did vote for Kostunica’s
party in the recent presidential
elections and later forcibly elevated
him to office, a portion of the popu
lation still supports Milosevic.
The most notable of Milosevic’s
allies was Serbian President Milan
Milutinovic, who controlled Ser
bia’s force of 100,000 state police
until his recent resignation. Al
though Serbia makes up only half
of Yugoslavia, the Serbian presi
dent is in many ways more power
ful than the federal president.
One of the issues that threatens
to tear Yugoslavia apart is what will
become of ousted leader Milosevic.
In an address on Yugoslavian na
tional television on Friday, Milose
vic conceded the recent election to
Kostunica and announced his in
tention to “take a break” from pub
lic life before returning to the polit
ical scene, presumably as the leader
of the new opposition party.
According to Western leaders,
such a future for Milosevic is un
acceptable. In separate statements
on Sunday, British Foreign Secre
tary Robin Cook and U.S. Secre
tary of State Madeline Albright re
iterated that Milosevic must be de
ported to The Hague and stand trial
before the United Nations War
Crimes Tribunal.
Milosevic and a number of oth
er Serbian leaders already face
charges of genocide and war
crimes committed in Kosovo. The
tribunal also recently announced
plans to also indict Milosevic by
December for ethnic cleansing
conducted in Bosnia and Croatia.
Kostunica, saying that he has
more pressing concerns than what
happens to his predecessor, has
said that he will not turn Milosevic
over to the U.N. War Crimes Tri
bunal. Given his already tenuous
situation, Kostunica cannot afford
to splinter his coalition over the
Milosevic question.
The West, however, remains
confident that Milosevic will even
tually stand trial. “I have no doubt
that there will be accountability
[for Milosevic],” Albright said
Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet The
Press.’ “Yugoslavia will not be tru
ly free until that happens.”
A sizable portion of the Yu
goslav people want Milosevic to
stand trial at home. If the West
forces the issue of Milosevic’s de
portation too soon, it could trigger
the collapse of the new govern
ment. The United States and other
powers must be careful not to
push the Kostunica government
too far.
Another issue facing Yugoslavia
is economic recovery. Suffering
from years of economic sanctions
against Milosevic’s regime and the
rubble left from NATO bombing
campaigns, the Yugoslav economy
is in shambles. To survive the com
ing months, Kostunica’s govern
ment must receive aid from the
West to keep its economy afloat.
On Monday, the European
Union lifted bans on oil sales and
air travel to Yugoslavia. A further
easing of sanctions is promised
The most important
component to Yu
goslavia's continued
democracy, howev
er, is unified support
from the interna
tional community.
once Kostunica establishes a solid
grip on power and Milosevic fac
tion is eliminated as a threat to Yu
goslav democracy.
Although the lifting of sanc
tions is a step in the right direction,
Yugoslavia will also need econom
ic assistance and infrastuctural de
velopment to endure.
An immediate concern is the
clearing of the Danube River, a
major international waterway
closed to traffic because of bridges
wrecked in the NATO bombing
campaigns.
The most important component
to Yugoslavia’s continued democra
cy, however, is unified support from
the international community. Such
unity has already been found lack
ing on the part of the Russian gov
ernment, which refrained from join
ing the Western world in supporting
Kostunica’s claim to the presidency.
Russia ultimately did, but only after
it had become clear that Milosevic
had lost his grip on power.
Albright called the Russians on
the carpet Sunday, saying,
“Frankly, they were late. They did'
not play the role that they needed
to at the right time.”
It is clear that Russian influ
ence will continue to dominate
Yugoslav foreign affairs. If Rus
sia cannot join the Western plan
for Yugoslav democracy, the Kos
tunica government may already
be dead in the water.
In spite of all these questions, it
is clear that Yugoslavia has a much
brighter chance for democracy and
freedom now than it did just a few
weeks ago.
It was not so long ago that the
position of democracy in East Ger
many, Poland and Romania
seemed tenuous dt best as well.
“I think it is really a historic
moment,” Kostunica told his fel
low Yugoslavs on Saturday. If his
government can survive the trials
that face it, this past weekend will
be but the first chapter in a history
of democratic rule in the Balkans.
College:
Is it necessary?
Nicholas Roznovsky is a senior
political science major.
Mir
believe it is
necessary to
get a college
degree to be
successful in
life. For most
children of the
baby boomer generation, it is not a
question of whether to go to col
lege, but where to go to college.
Many American college stu
dents do not realize that most of
the world does not go to college.
Although having a college degree
has its perks, it is not necessary to
have one in order to be successful
or wealthy in the 20th century.
Obviously, Bill Gates would
be considered by most to be a
very successful businessman.
Most people do not know he
does not have a college degree.
Television mogul Ted Turner
also does not have a college
degree.
In 1997, the U.S. Census Bu
reau reported that the average col
lege graduate earns $40,478,
while a typical high school gradu
ate earns $22,895. There is an ex
treme difference between these
numbers, but with a little technical
training, a high school graduate
can do very well.
Many people who have ob- ’
tained a college degree are not
prosperous individuals. Arizona
recently conducted a study on the
success of college graduates. Only
26.9 percent of the population irt
Arizona has a college degree. The
study found that, in Arizona, an
average person with a bachelor’s
degree makes $29,756, and that an
average person over 25 with a high
school degree makes $21,000.
There is a difference in these
numbers. But in considering the
amounts on the basis of one year
of pay, a person with a bachelor’s
degree paid so much to obtain
that degree that the person with a
high school degree actually has
more money.
This is not even considering
the time a person spends obtain
ing a college degree instead of
working at a full-time job.
Now companies are requiring
employees, whether they have
college degrees, to take on-the-job
technical training before working
for that company. According to
Scott Lane, CEO of Oxford Lane,
(a Colorado technical training
school) some colleges that pro
vide four-year degrees are teach
ing outdated technological skills.
Most technical training schools,
like Oxford Lane, are teaching the
latest technology that is necessary
for people to carry out their jobs in
a safe and successful manner.
Many employers are hiring
high school graduates who have a
lot of hands-on experience in
stead of a college graduate. Chris
Watts, a public relations profes
sional, is one example of a suc
cessful high school graduate.
He dropped out of college, en
rolled into a broadcasting trade
school and works for the Wash
ington News Bureau of the Asso
ciated Press. Watts is certainly a
success story. Most of the popu
lation looks at a bachelor’s de
gree as a safety net, but is it real
ly, or would a little technical
training be just as beneficial?
This column may not persuade
any of its readers to drop out of
college — that is not the purpose.
It is just to point out that there are
people out there who are happy,
wealthy and prosperous without
obtaining a college degree.
Although obtaining a college
degree is an extreme amount of
hard work and should be respect
ed, Americans should also re
spect the individuals who do not
have a college degree and have to
work their way up in the world to
achieve success.
Sunnye Owens is a junior
journalism major.
Mail Call
rticle on age requirements
tverlooks current guidelines
^response to Sunnye Owens’ Oct. 5 column.
Solely out of sheer, morbid curiosity, does The Bat-
alion require its writers to do any research whatsoev-
r? Sunnye Owens wrote a persuasive article ques
tioning the morality of allowing children to participate
in the Olympics, specifically in the area of gymnastics.
Her complaints regarding the age of participants in
the Olympics seem a bit belated (give or take four
years or so) considering the Olympics set a minimum
age limit for participants this year. The Olympians were
required to be of at least 16 years of age, ending the
previous trend of increasingly younger (Read: more
flexible and lighter weight) gymnasts and divers.
While Owens had a good point, it was simply a bit
too late to have much effect. This would be a prime
example of the need for increased editorial responsi
bility in journalism at TAMU, not simply regarding ty
pographical errors, but also the factuality and content
of articles.
Paul Springer
Class of ’97
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and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc
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