• URBAN NEWS

Last Update on November 20, 2009 03:06 EST

OPRAH WINFREY: ENDING SYNDICATED TV SHOW

CHICAGO (AP) -- It's the beginning of the end of an era. Oprah Winfrey says she is winding down her TV talk show -- the one that made her a household name, even in households that never watched the show. She will be on the air today to announce that the show will go off broadcast TV in 2011. That would end her 25th year on the air with her syndicated show. Word of the change was given to Harpo staffers in the show's Chicago headquarters first. Then, word was passed along to stations -- and the cat was out of the bag.

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OPRAH WINFREY: AND THEN ?????

CHICAGO (AP) -- We know "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will soon be no more. But what does the future hold for Oprah herself? The 2011 signoff she announces today will make for a long goodbye, but not a surprising one. She has been dropping hints all along that the show wouldn't be on the air forever. And she recently teamed up with Discovery Communications for The Oprah Winfrey Network. OWN is expected to make its debut in 2011. However, a Harpo spokeswoman wouldn't comment except to say "The Oprah Winfrey Show" won't transfer to cable. At the same time, it's unlikely Oprah will disappear from the public eye.

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OPRAH WINFREY: A MEDIA EMPIRE TO ENVY

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When "The Oprah Winfrey Show" signs off for the last time, it will mark the end of one of the popular and profitable enterprises ever on TV -- or elsewhere. The show earned her millions of fans and billions of dollars -- both of which she used to craft a huge media empire that has a global reach. The show airs in 145 countries around the world and is seen by about 42 million people a week in the U.S. alone. Her production firm Harpo -- Oprah spelled backward -- produces her show. It also handles shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray. Oprah's "book club" picks have ended up creating instant best-sellers and her "favorite things" have spurred sales of upscale goods. And she once gave away a car to every member of the studio audience for one of her shows. Then, there's her magazine "O" -- which is the nation's seventh most popular magazine in the first half of this year. Until very recently, Oprah had appeared alone on the cover of each issue.

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OPRAH WINFREY: THE POWER AND THE MONEY

CHICAGO (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey wrote in her 1998 book "Journey to Beloved: "I came from nothing." But she isn't leaving her syndicated show with nothing. So much so that someone having "Oprah money" is a goal many have in life. And a look at the numbers shows why. This year, Forbes pegged Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion. While she dropped from number one on the list of most powerful celebrities, she is still number 2. She already has props for being the top earning celebrity, with a take of $275 million last year.

CHRIS BROWN: PROBATION REPORT LOOKS FAVORABLE

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chris Brown is making progress toward paying his debt to society for beating up Rihanna. A judge in Los Angeles says the singer has gotten what she calls an "extremely favorable" report from those handling his probation. Brown was in court yesterday for the brief hearing, during which his attorneys provided his first progress report since being sentenced for beating Rihanna earlier this year. The court was informed that Brown has done 100 hours of community labor in Virginia and has paid all of his court-ordered fees and fines. Brown pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge in the beating incident, which took place the night before the Grammys.

Another progress report in Brown's probation case is set or February 18.

MICHAEL JACKSON: UP FOR FIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Does Michael Jackson have the power to win awards from beyond the grave? We'll find out this Sunday when this year's American Music Awards are handed out. Jackson has five nominations, including one for artist of the year. He's second only to country star Taylor Swift for most nods. Other nominees include Beyonce, Eminem, T.I. and the Black Eyed Peas. The Peas, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert are also expected to perform. Janet Jackson will open the show and Whitney Houston will also sing, as she continues her comeback effort.

On the 'Net:

American Music Awards site: http://abc.go.com/shows/american-music-awards

DWAYNE JOHNSON: 2009 -- A SPACE ADVENTURE

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Little girls love their dads. And they love cartoons. So for Dwayne Johnson it was a double thrill to be in "Planet 51," which opens today. Johnson voices one of the astronauts and he says his eight-year-old daughter got a kick out of hearing dad's voice in the film, even though his character is "white and blond." Though the animation wasn't true to Johnson's hue, the movie makers tried to toe the line when it came to the nation's space agency. Johnson says NASA signed off on the film and in the process, he got to meet a couple of astronauts, who he describes as being "great guys."

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EDDIE MURPHY: SHOWING US THE MONEY -- BUT NOT THE AUDIENCE

NEW YORK (AP) -- So, which Hollywood stars deliver the least bang for the buck? There's a list -- and Eddie Murphy is one it. Forbes tallied up which stars don't pull their weight when it comes to earning their salaries for movies. Among those making the list are Murphy, who has had flops with movies like "Norbit" and Ice Cube, who has put aside his rap career for a series of appearances in films like the "Friday" series. Topping the list is Will Ferrell, Murphy is fourth followed by Ice Cube at number five. Also making the list are Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Cruise and Drew Barrymore.

BLIND SIDE OPENS -- BULLOCK TO HOST PREMIERE IN NEW ORLEANS

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- You don't usually think of a city like New Orleans as the site for a Hollywood-style premiere. But that will be the place Sandra Bullock chose for a premiere of her latest film, "The Blind Side." She bought a house in New Orleans recently -- and arranged for last night's screening. Money raised by the event will help out Warren Easton High School, which was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Bullock already has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the school for scholarships, new band uniforms, auditorium renovations and a new health clinic. Her movie is about a poor, black teenager taken in by a white family and recruited by a major college to play football.

JAYSON WILLIAMS: EXPECTED TO PLEAD GUILTY TODAY

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Retired NBA star Jayson Williams is headed to prison. The former New Jersey Nets star has agreed to a plea bargain that would see him go away for up to three years for the shooting death of a driver at his estate in 2002. A person with knowledge of the case tells The Associated Press the plea deal will be finished today. The source says Williams will plead guilty to aggravated assault. Williams was to face a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count, but that will go away with the plea deal. The agreement would also resolve all charges in a case that has played out in the legal system for nearly eight years.

MILLI VANILLI: LOOKING BACK

UNDATED (AP) -- On this date in 1990, the two performers known as Milli Vanilli held a news conference to discuss the lip-synching scandal that cost them their Grammy. Rob Pilatus told kids to get a good lawyer if they want to get into show business.