Oprah’s Channel

Few days back while I was browsing through the entertainment news on Google, my eyes caught a news article about a channel named OWN probably an acronym for Oprah Winfrey network. The first thing that came to my mind after reading the headline was how? When? Why? I am not really a news person and therefore find myself usually unaware of the current happenings. I am not a religious follower of Oprah’s shows but I used to watch them sometimes. Therefore I was curious to know about all the hype going on about her channel. I started looking through the articles related to the same and came across many interesting ones. Some telling about the popularity of the channel and some critiquing over the low number of viewers.
Oprah Winfrey’s syndicated talk show ended on 25th May 2011. Her last show was filled with tears and pride. She walked out on a stage for the last time to a standing ovation from an audience filled with friends and family, including her longtime boyfriend Stedman Graham. "There are no words to match this moment," said Winfrey, clad in a pink dress with ruffles cascading down the front. She told the audience that that day she would not be giving away cars nor were there any trinkets hidden under their seats. Instead, Winfrey used her final show, the 4,561st, to thank the audience that made her show the No.1 talk show for its entire 25-year run. Her last show wasn’t the end of her success, in fact it was a beginning to a whole new series of adventures; the OWN channel!
The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), named after talk-show presenter Oprah Winfrey, is an American specialty channel produced by Harpo Productions and Discovery Communications. It is said to be a replacement of the former Discovery Health Channel. OWN is not a one man show channel. In fact it’s like all the other channels where various shows are run by various people like strips, special programs, original documentaries, and acquired movies. According to discovery communications “OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is the network of self-discovery, connecting people to each other and to their greatest potential. We tell real-life stories that are emotional and entertaining. We present moments of transformation that inspire action. We give you the tools to fuel your own self-discovery and live your best life. On OWN, it's not about what's next on TV, it's about what's next for you.” The network insists that it is on a long journey toward building a network around Winfrey's approach to programming. Oprah’s new channel’s executive members include:

• Oprah Winfrey - Chairman, CEO, and Chief Creative Officer
• Sheri Salata - President
• Erik Logan - President
• John MacDonald - Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
• Lisa Erspamer - Executive Vice President, Production & Development

In the case of ratings it's still so far, not so good. From July through October, the network averaged 116,000 viewers throughout the day, down from Discovery Health's daily average of 147,000. OWN was also down from Discovery Health in primetime, and more disturbingly among women 25 to 54, its target demographic.
Here are the comparisons across all the adult viewership demos between OWN in 3rd Quarter (July-Sept), 2011 vs. Discovery Health in 3rd Quarter, 2010.

• Total Day Avg. viewership: Down 20%
• Total Day Women 18-34 viewership: Down 32%
• Total Day Women 18-49 viewership: Down 24%
• Total Day Women 25-54 viewership: Down 15% (likely the ad target demo for OWN)
• Total Day Adults 18-49 viewership: Down 25%

It's not a surprise that OWN isn't attracting as many men as Discovery Health, but the fact that it's still not attracting as many women is a big problem. The critiques said that OWN low ratings would almost certainly cause Oprah to bring a daily talk show like her recently finished syndicated show to OWN. As a result she planned to host a few shows on her channel. “Oprah’s Lifeclass” is one the show hosted by her. Episodes of that series are also being reshown on OWN. And the best of them reveal all too clearly that her success didn’t spring solely from the New Age-y self-improvement lessons, but from Ms. Winfrey’s spirited interactions with guests and audiences. She wasn’t always so spiritually “mindful.” A lot of the time she was irreverent, bold and even at times shocking. Winfrey is working hard to make herself more visible, not only hosting "Lifeclass" this week but taking part in online chats with fans each night after it airs. She'll also begin her next talk show, "Oprah's Next Chapter," in January.Winfrey has committed to appearing in a minimum of 70-hours per year on the network. "Fifteen years ago, I wrote in my journal that one day I would create a television network, as I always felt my show was just the beginning of what the future could hold.  For me, the launch of OWN is the evolution of the work I've been doing on television all these years and a natural extension of my show", said Oprah.

Milk: A New Fashion Trend!

BERLIN — Reuters (Oct 07 2011) “A young fashion designer from the German city of Hanover is revolutionizing high fashion by designing clothes with a staple she can find in her fridge —milk.”



About the Fabric

Anke Domaske has recently developed a fabric called QMilch made from high concentrations of the milk protein casein-- the first man-made fiber produced entirely without chemicals.

The clothes feature soft and sensuous lines and basic colors. The elegant draperies are made using milk fiber which is turned into thread in a laboratory close to Bremen. Made from all natural materials, the QMilch fabric is not only ecological but is also enriched with many health benefits. Domaske said that the amino acids in the protein are antibacterial, anti-aging and can help regulate both blood circulation and body temperature. The fabric falls wonderfully, and it’s cheaper than silk. Milk fabric is made of protein so you can wash it normally, and it’s really easy to care for. “It feels like silk and it doesn’t smell — you can wash it just like anything else,” Domaske told.

Who Designed it?

Anke Domaske, 28, learned to make clothes as a child, from her great grandmother- who was a milliner. She had a passion for science too and even won a contest for up-and-coming scientists, in her teenage. After she finished school she went to Tokyo, Japan, where she sold t-shirts designed by her. On her return home she began studying microbiology and set-up her own fashion label on the side. In short, she managed to balance her two greatest interests and the results turned out to be astonishing. This German-born designer did a great job in balancing between her passion for fashion and her love for science. She decided to study microbiology and also pursued a career in fashion design.

Process Involved
The fabric making process is a lot more environment-friendly and considerably cheaper. The casein is extracted from dried milk powder and then heated up in a type of meat-mincing machine with other natural ingredients. The fiber comes out in strands and is then spun into yarn on a spinning machine. The good thing is that the fibers are extracted from substandard milk that is usually thrown away. So, the substandard milk is used to create a milk yarn fabric, manufactured without the use of any pesticides or chemicals.

 Discovery of Milk fiber:

The upcoming designer, Anke Domaske, realized that there’s more to milk than meets the eye. Since, she’s always had a thing for science, she and her team spent years experimenting with the milk turning it into eco-thread. They came up with a special mixture containing a protein derived from sour milk, which is processed in a lab, near the German city of Bremen. It is heated up and pressed through a kind of mincing machine to create the threads.

“We have developed an all-natural fiber consisting of a very high concentration of casein, with a few other natural ingredients — and in only two years,” the former microbiology student Domaske said.

Model Britta poses for the dresses made from Milk.

Anke Domaske’s Collection:

Until she reached the ideal combination of all her passions: she has presented a capsule collection within her Mademoiselle Chi Chi line, much-coveted by Hollywood stars such as Mischa Barton and Ashlee Simpson. Domaske’s fashion label Mademoiselle Chi Chi has now started weaving the milk fiber into its collection. Currently, the MCC clothes featuring flowing wrap dresses with edgy cuts and bright patterns are made from a combination of various fibers, including QMilch. It’s been heard that Domaske also plans to design a collection made entirely from the milk fiber. According to Domaske, it takes about 6 liters (1.5 gallons) of milk to produce an entire dress. Those interested in her designs should be prepared to pay up to US $270 (€200).  AS the reporter says, “Luckily, for that kind of money, the clothes don't come with an expiry date -- during the heating process, the molecules bind in such a way that the protein won't decompose.”  Anke Domaske’s revolutionary milk fiber fashion is going on show this summer, and she’s already received inquiries from all over the world. Next she plans to work on a men’s line.


Source of Information:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/06/us-germany-fashion-milk-idUSTRE7953MG20111006
http://www.psfk.com/2011/07/clothes-made-from-sour-milk-video.html