P ortla nd. O regon
!
ERVER
Former Observer Intern
Anchors TV 8 News
Oprah Winfrey Harpo Productions Makes Portland Selection
OPRAH WINFREY
' ' Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be open unto
you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and
he that seeketh findeth, and him that knock -
eth it shall be opened . . Matthew 7; 7-8
After graduating from the U. o f Portland
with a degree in Communications (1985),
Brenda Braxton took her dream o f being a
reporter south to the graduate program at
Louisiana State University. In 1986, Braxton
completed the program and caught on with
television (Baton Rouge) station WASB TV
(CBS) as an anchor/m xlical reporter. A dream
come true, for the moment.
Very pleased with her development as a
broadcaster and person, Braxton came home
this past summer to ‘ ‘chill” out. She wanted
to touch base with her primary source of
energy, home, and to see some old friends.
Without any expectations, the assertive Braxton
hit the three networks in town just to “ say
hello’ ’ and to drop off a resume tape. KGW-
TV 8 was the first to respond to her tape.
Braxton knocked on the door at KGW one
day and on the next, she had a solid job offer.
She had never been afraid of taking risks or
chasing her innermost dreams.
Braxton headed back to Louisiana with
more than she ever expected but being a
sensitive and conscious individual, she wonder
how her employer would take her resigna
tion. Some stations have been known to fire
people on the spot. Needless to say, the news
was greeted with much support and well
wishes. WASB-TV gave Braxton a warm
‘ ‘send off’ ’ on the air and then, she headed to
the Pacific Northwest.
Ullysses Tucker, Jr., is afreelance writer
and television producer in Portland, Oregon.
He caught up with Ms. Braxton in between
the KGW Noon News, lunch, and working
out as she does with such regularity. Ullysses
filed this interview for the Portland O b
server.
P o rtland O bserver: Why Television as
a career?
Braxton: “ 1 think that 1 got hooked on
the immediacy of television. I always thought
that I’d be a print journalist. I was editor of
the Beacon (U. of Portland school newspa
per) and things like th a t. . . Then, I met Art
Alex ander as a junior at U of P. He helped me
to secure an internship at Rodgers Cable.
Somehow, I got involved in a mock Demo
cratic Convention at Memorial Coliseum. I
served as a reporter for a group of high
school students and the experience was a
positive one. I didn't realize the great differ
ence between print and broadcast. I didn’t
know what a photog w a s-it was sink or
swim. People couldn't believe that it was my
first real experience. I was just feeling my
way around. 1 got hooked. From that point, I
started making the transition from print to
television. I ’ve been pursuing the dream
every since.”
P ortland O bserver: What psychologi
cal adjustments did you have to make to tele
vision?
B raxton: “ You have to get into a m ind
set like the one I ’m in now. You have to be
able to go one on one and be extremely
GWENDOLYN REID
by Mattie Ann Callier-Spears
(exclusive interview rights by Career Network, Inc. Agency)
BRENDA BRAXTON
by Ullysses Tucker Jr.
conversational, the formality is just not there
to a great extent with television. You have to
break it down. People can not go over and
over the facts like they can in newspaper.
They hear it once. Whatever they are doing,
most often they are not specifically focused
on the television screen, so, you have to
make it very clear. You must also make it
concise and conversational in order for them
to comprehend the facts the first time. If we
can accomplish this in a newscast, then we
are effective and doing our jobs.”
P ortland O bserver: What are you at
tempting to project across the airwaves?
B raxton: “ I want them to know that
'hey can depend on me and the station for all
the journalistic things they have come to
know. In reality, I feel like I ’m just a person
who has trained and specialized in this area.
I ’d like to think that I ’m no different than any
other person. I’m like any other professional
who takes their job seriously.”
P ortland O bserver: How do you sepa
rate your public self from your private se lP
B raxton: “ I find it real easy. Coming
back to Portland provided me with a solid
base because I had family and friends. I ’ve
known foryears. When I go to KGW, it’s my
job and not my life. I strike a balance. When
I leave work, I interact with a new set of faces
and with people who care about or love me.
The person on the screen is not everything
that I am. It’s just a part of m e.”
P ortland O bserver: Who are your he
roes?
B raxton: “ My parents, who are real
pposite. My dad gave me drive, ambition,
md a real good sense of self confidence.
Tiey always supported me. They always told
me that there was nothing I could not do. My
mother gave me the more human qualities.
She taught me compassion and how not to be
jaded when you look at situations or realities
I may encounter. My mother has always had
the ability to look at things through the eyes
of a child. Mom appreciates the simple pleas
ures in life and if I need to break it down for
you, my dad is city folk and my mom is
country folks. I could never be where I am
today without their sacrifices economically
or emotionally. They are real heroes.”
P ortland O bserver: Do you have any
television heroes?
Braxton: 1 like some of the network
guys. Brinkley, Donaldson, and George Will
thrown in there. As far as people I like to look
at, Peter Jennings and Connie Chung are
easily related too. Both offer something dif
ferent. Being in television, I find it difficult
to be just an observer because there are so
many things going on at one time. It's an art
just sitting there and accomplishing your
objective. I also like journalist who are tena
cious, like Brett Hume and Sam Donaldson.
Both are excellent reporters. When it comes
to delivery, I really enjoy Carol Simpson."
Portland Observer: What docs the pub
lic have a right to know?
B raxton: " I think v hat the public has a
right to know is a lough question, especially
when it starts to get into people’s personal
life. I suppose that if there is any possibility
of your personal life affecting your public
service in a negative way or if your personal
(Continued To Page 5)
Early in the morning of October twenty-
third, an American Airlines flight departed
Portland’s airport with Ms Gwendolyn Reid
aboard. The plane was bound for the windy
city of Chicago.
Until this day, Gwendolyn was consid
ered an ordinary, but not so ordinary, per
so n -w h o worked an eight hour day. Just like
the rest of u s-sh e cares for family and she
performs her daily tasks, for the Wieden and
Kennedy Advertising Agency. Let’s go back
a b it
One day Philip, G w en’s 24 year old son,
phoned his mother, from his Eugene resi
dence, with a very interesting bit of informa
tion. He had been watching the Oprah W in
frey Show when he heard this announcement
at the very end of the program> he had heard
that women 40 years old and older were
being asked to send a picture and a brief
autobiography to the Oprah Winfrey Studio.
These were women who still considered
themselves to be sexy and attractive. Well,
needless to say, Gwen was terribly flattered
that her son would even think that his forty-
six year old mother would fit into this cate
gory. To be doubly sure, Gwen checked with
her twenty-three year old daughter Tracie,
who lives in Los Angeles, California and her
mother, who lives in Ohio. Well, even if she
wasn’t selected, she was very excited. She
had to check with her daughter to see if she
would be em barrassed-but, she was de
lighted.
Gwen sent in a photograph and a copy of
her autobiography. She was selected as one
of nine out of five thousand entries. Entries
poured into the Harpo Productions Studio
from all over the country. Gw en’s entry was
the only one from the state of Oregon. And
the only other Black representative came
from Chicago. A fifty year beauty n am ed -
Marie. The mother of five children.
When you see Gwendolyn’s 5'5-1/2",
size 7 figure, you too would be amazed to
find out that she is 46 years old.
“I refused to do nude
modeling..
Gwendolyn modeled professionally about
25 years ago. She was a very young mother,
and wife, with two small children. Again,
she was lucky to widely, back then. Roth
Laboratories decided that they wanted to use
• Black model for their pamphlets on Simi-
lac. Gwen was selected out of a group of
twelve Black models to advertise Roth’s
Similac baby products. She worked fever
ishly for two years at trade shows, conven
tions, television commercials and . . . then
she quit. “ I refused to do any nude model
ing” Gwen candidly stated. “ Maybe it was
my up bringing. I don’t want to think of
myself as ‘old-fashioned’; but, I don have
certain standards that I live by .. . and after
a while they pressure you to do it.”
Oprah Does Everything
First Class
“ On the morning I arrived in Chicago”
says Gwen, “ the excitement began.” “ First
I was met at the airport by a limousine. The
driver was standing outside the door holding
a sign with my name on it. ” Oprah had made
all the arrangements: air fare, hotel reserva
tions, limousine service and so-forth. She
was very organized. “ The limo picked me up
at the airport and look me to the hotel. All I
had to do was give my name and everything
was taken care-of. Although, the studio was
located only two blocks from the hotel, the
limo was there each time to pick me up and
take me back-n’-forth. It was wonderful!”
“ I was very flattered to have been there in
the first place and, then, to have all this first-
class treatment . . . Oh, m y!” “ My hotel
room was located on the eighteenth floor
overlooking the river, there was room serv
ice and anything I wanted there was taken
care of by Oprah.”
The Sex Symbol Show
Nine women, whose ages ranged from
40-81, will be featured on a special Oprah
Winfrey Show presentation. The show will
air on the 24th day of November, 1989. The
day after ‘Thanksgiving’. The show’s theme
will be: Sex Symbols—Women Over 40.
Gwendolyn appeared in a bathing suit,
which was a requirement. You had to prove
that you were qualified.
I » fe
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The Day Of The Taping
The women arrived at the Harpo (Oprah
spelled backwards) Productions Studio in
their limousines. Each woman was escorted
backstage where she prepared herself for the
program. Hair stylist and make-up artist
were provided to assist in the preparation. Its
seven-thirty in the morning of the 24th of
October, 1989. Everyone is trying to get
every little hair in place. Everyone wants to
make a good first impression. Gwen fixes
her own hair and does her own make-up.
Oprah arrived at 10:00 a.m. She shook
hands with each woman. “ Oprah is such a
down-to-earth person,” says Gwen. “ We
didn't get to meet Oprah until we saw her on
stage. Not before.” The excitement and
anticipation exuded by each woman was that
of overwhelmed enthusiasm.
When each woman was presented, her
Beyond
Memorials
Mr. Betre Melles, a prominent member
of Portland’s Ethiopian community states
that the death of Mr. Mulugeta Seraw at the
hands o f racist Skinheads “ shall not be in
vain." He has embarked on a determined and
highly visible campaign to heighten aware
ness of the intensifying racist terrorism
abounding in community.
Mr. Melles told the staff o f the Portland
Observer that immediately after the sentenc
ing of the first Skinhead involved in the
gruesome murder, he was asked had “ enough
been do n e." His reply, “ Its never enough ..
. you cannot eat one meal for a lifetim e."
This ancient adage turned out to mean that he
’ foresaw the need for a long-term program of
both intervention and prevention; “ We need
to bring to bear the same multi-level focus
being brought to the drug problem.”
It was further stated that the numerous
memorials being held on this first anniver
sary of Mr. Seraw’s death (Nov. 13) "can
signify a determined effort on the part o f the
entire Portland Community to deal with a
universal problem . . . we can say peace and
harmony but what is the reality?” Carrying
out his personal mode of “ intervention and
prevention," Betre Melles has begun a sched
ule of appearance in the local schools where
he will present a concept of universal hu
manism as expressed by the Ethiopian com
m unity--" How many have seen an Ethio
pian to know him ?” Melles says that so far
the response has been good.Among those
numerous memorials to which Melles al
ludes are the following; On Sunday, Nov. 12,
Mulugeta Seraw:
I
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home in Hillsboro, Oregon on a Thursday
and interviewed her over the phone. At that
time, she was informed that she had made the
first cut-down to fifty women. After a brief
interview, she was asked if she was willing to
appear in a bathing suit. She only hesitated
for a brief second. Gwen felt that if she had
said “ No! ’ ’ they would have selected some
one else.
All of the women, in the final selection,
were required to wear either a bathing suit or
tights. Gwen chose a bathing suit. Each
woman appeared on stage for only a short
time; then, they changed into day-time dresses.
Gwen chose a lovely knit dress which she
had purchased expressly for this occasion.
When G wen ’ s mother heard that she was
required to wear a bathing suit on national
television, she said, “ Oh, Gwen do you just
have to ear a bathing suit on television? You
know . . . you look so nice in your clothes.”
Gwen called her mother back the next day to
tell her that she had purchased a lovely
bathing suit. She recalls her m other’s re
sponse, “ Gwen,” I hope your buns aren’t
going to be hanging out! I will be so embar
rassed.” Gwen consoled her by saying,
“ Mother . . . please give me a little cred it I
am too old for that kind-of-a suit. I think that
I ’ve made a good selection that you will be
proud of.”
hirth uiii'njifi wit flathrd nn ihr
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proof of her age. The least believable guesl
was Betty, the 81 year old great grand
mother. She didn’t wear a bathing suit bi
she wore leotards and tights.
Keeping In Shape
Is Important
Prior to Gwen’s selection, she was run
ning a total of two miles per day; but, now itl
is dark and she is ‘chicken’. If she runs, she}
has her boyfriend to follow her in his car. No)
joking. Right now she goes out, pretty much,
on weekends but she feels much better if she
can go out at least 3 or 4 times per week. It
helps to relieve stress and at the same time
helps to keep her toned. She runs in her
neighborhood and at this time of the year the
colors are so bright and beautiful. You don’t
think about the pain. You just run, look at all
the beauty and it makes you feel so much
better.
Gwen played basketball in high school
but it did not have teams for girls at that time;
so, she played basketball with the boys in the
alleys and in the lots. She even took boxing--
until the coach forced her to drop the class
simply because she was a girl. She still has
muscles in her arms that she has never been
able to get rid o f-ju st from that ol' boxing.
Yes! She was one of the boys and loved it!
Some of the women on the show asked
Gwen if she took body building.
Her Job Will Never Be The Same
Wieden & Kennedy Advertising Agency
is the sole major advertiser for NIKE, on a
national level. Gwen has been employed
with them since February, of this year, as a
receptionist. When they heard about what
had happened-they thought that it was just
wonderful. In fact, as Gwen was being told,
on the phone by Oprah’s assistant that she
had made the show, there are two reception
ist at my desk and the other one was paging
throughout the office “ Gwen is going to be
on Oprah’s!" Everybody ran out. There was
a conference going on and everyone emptied
the conference room. They ran out, yelling
and screaming, cheering her on for five or
more minutes. It was incredible. Everyone
has been very supportive. She is now known
as “ Their Super Star."
The Ethiopian Community Cultural Organi
zation held special service, at Seattle's Ethio
pian Orthodox Tewahido Amamel Church.
On the same day a similar service was held in
Portland by the local chapter of the organiza
tion. Monday night the Southeast Uplift
Neighborhood Program held a memorial
candlelight vigil at its S.E. Main Street of
fice; the impressive ceremony received
considerable television coverage.
This Newspaper Observes: An ironic
twist to the ugly scenario is that the Ethiopi
ans arc the people whom the Greek histori
ans described as the most gentle and noble of
races. And both the Bible and documented
history inform us that the Ethiopians were
involved at the beginning o f C h ristianity-
the “ mute stones speak" from many an
ancient grotto carved into the mountains of
East Africa. And yet racist barbarians would
dare to hide behind a facade of pseudo-
Christian icons.