As I browse the online news reports on Oprah Winfrey’s Australian adventure I detect a real sense of disregard for the American media queen. Some people voiced blatant hatred towards her, others simply blasted Tourism Australia for their “stupidity” in funding Oprah’s visit to Oz.
It seems many Australians find it offensive that we require her to endorse us to the rest of the world. It is easy to see how one can be sickened by the reverie in which she is treated—she does seem to thunder her views like some exhaustingly overbearing ethereal presence. I’m far from being an Oprah disciple myself, yet I do agree with Tourism Australia’s decision—this is one $5 million investment that will pay off.
Already there has been a sharp increase in tourism enquiries directed to New South Wales from US tourism operators, Qantas vacations and sydney.com. But further to this, Oprah’s endorsement of Australia couldn’t come at a better time, especially in respect to Queensland. The state has been painted in Oprah’s Australian adventure as a vibrant oasis of relaxation and beauty.
I think Oprah's work will inspire people to come to Australia and give a much-needed shot in the arm to the Queensland tourism industry. In addition, a last minute inclusion into the first episode of Oprah’s Australian adventure was added where she made a meaningful plea with her audiences to donate to the QLD flood appeal.
At present this very traditional kind of broadcast media is often seen as losing touch with the public. Alternatively, internet enabled new media forges a unique connection with audiences by creating a sense of community that overcomes physical boundaries, as well as breaking through emotional barriers, thus generating a larger response from the public at large.
In fact this is highlighted in the case of the QLD floods. The QLD police service Facebook page provides constant updates on local area conditions, facilitates the provision of aid for locals in need and generally provides a stronger support structure during this crisis. This page has rocketed from about 7,000 friends at Christmas time to almost 165,000 after the floods and is made up of people all over Australia and all over the world.
Globally, people can have these events brought to their desktops and mobiles and effectively create meaningful emotional connections with the victims of crises. This perpetuates the idea that new media is far stronger than traditional media.
This perception of a new media-stronghold, I believe, is challenged by Oprah’s contribution to the QLD flood appeal. Oprah had managed to emotionally engage viewers across the world with the struggles of the Queensland people in such a way that in the hour after her episode had aired, the QLD Premier’s Flood Appeal had shot from $100 million to $120 million.
Admittedly, this may not all be the actions of Oprah fans, however such impact is not unfamiliar when it comes to the Oprah effect. (This is not to say that the cause in itself is not enough to motivate so many people to donate, but I rather mean to comment on the brilliant and enormous result of her plea and the instantaneous response). One can question whether this awe-inspiring kind of emotive response could have been evoked from any other medium new or old — or any other person, Australian or not.
Lia Robinson
Initiative