The final scramble for an 'Oprah moment'

For those fearing the "Oprah-calypse" — that day, in May 2011, when daytime queen of talk Oprah Winfrey will stop taping her long-running network TV show — repentance isn't as important as aggressive persistence. Oprah's golden touch has boosted countless entrepreneurs, writers, and self-help gurus over her 25 years on the air, says Stephanie Rosenbloom in The New York Times, and those who haven't made it onto Oprah's couch — like Stacy Igel, fashion designer for the Boy Meets Girl label — are madly scrambling to secure a slot before time runs out. Here's an excerpt:

Ms. Igel, who has adopted the slogan "Passion. Drive. Oprah!" as a personal and professional mantra (you'll find it on the Facebook page of her company), routinely pitches a producer at the show with whom she went to college. And she is considering having her brother-in-law, who she said lives in the same building as Ms. Winfrey's close friend Gayle King, slip Ms. King some Boy Meets Girl merchandise — though the idea makes her uneasy.

"That's a little aggressive for me," she said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Aggression, however, is probably warranted. The clock is ticking for those who envision themselves as the next Phil McGraw, Dr. Mehmet Oz, or Rachael Ray... "They're scrambling," said Susan Harrow, a California-based media coach who for decades has received so many "get me on Oprah" requests from writers, entrepreneurs, and even a Mafioso’s son, that she decided to write a handbook, "The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah," which she sells for $99 (you read that correctly).

Read the entire article at The New York Times.