Profiles of Remarkable Businesses (Collection)

Oprah (Brand) Renew

Nancy F. Koehn

A grievous ethical lapse had been committed—lies were presented as truth—and it was reverberating across the cultural landscape, gathering force until it became a full-blown media maelstrom. And Oprah Winfrey found herself in the midst of the unfolding drama.

At first, like millions of others, she was drawn in by the author and the power of the tale he had to tell—a tale about alcoholism, addiction, and overcoming one’s past—drawn in deep enough that she initially defended what would soon be revealed as his lies. Suddenly, a number of very important balls were in the air: the credibility of the story being told, ...