The true amazement surrounding the Oprah Winfrey Show is not the hundreds of thousands of viewers all over the world. Oprah is a black woman, who was born into poverty. Even with everything working against her (racism, sexism, and the class system) she managed to become one of the most successful and influential people that the media have ever seen.
However, in September 2003 Ellen DeGeneres started her own talk-show. Ellen is said to be Oprah's only competition. She has almost as many viewers, and her success is marked by the 25 Emmy Awards won during her first three seasons of the show. Ellen is also fighting an uphill battle. She admitted to being a lesbian (on the Oprah Show, ironically enough) and the media are still supportive of her. Obviously, some potential viewers are deterred by her sexual orientation, but for the most part the media have presented her as an average white female actress, comedian, and talk-show host.
What happens to Ellen's show after Oprah goes off the air will be a pivotal point in history. My guess is that we'll be witnessing the push for more acceptance of the gay community-- especially in the media. Late night talk-shows easily jab at homosexuality, but I sense that the attention Ellen will receive (more than what she already has received) will do its part in normalizing homosexuality.
While her sitcom used to be based on the idea of Ellen as a lesbian, her talk-show does its best to make the viewers ignore her sexual orientation for a solid hour. Just as Oprah was popular because of her success regardless of her unpopular traits, Ellen will attract Oprah's old viewers and keep them because of her subtle ideologies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/business/media/11tele.html?ref=televisionGina
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