Oprah Calls on Viewers to Demand Action Against Child Predators

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 12, 2008

CHICAGO — On Monday, September 15, Oprah issues an urgent call to her viewers to take action against child predators in an all new episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. “What you are going to see is going to shock you to the core, but I'm asking you to please not turn away, because this is happening in our country to our children in the United States every day,” Winfrey says.

During the episode, Oprah implores viewers to help put a stop to child predators by contacting their senators in support of U.S. Senate Bill 1738. Called the PROTECT Our Children Act, U.S. Senate Bill 1738 has bipartisan support and is currently before the U.S. Senate. Oprah.com will feature information and links to connect viewers to their senators.

In an arresting hour, viewers will see the true extent and pervasiveness of child pornography trafficking in America, as state-of-the-art technology reveals the staggering magnitude of the problem for the first time. “Just in preparing for this show, I thought I knew some things about this. But I think it's expanding at a rate that nobody could even imagine,” Winfrey says.

During the hour, The Oprah Show also reveals the devious new tactics that child predators don’t want parents to know about and examines the latest disturbing new fronts in the battle against child pornography. Oprah also reveals how law enforcement agencies are using the latest technology to track down child pornography peddlers and rescue children from the dark world of child abuse and pornography. This special episode of The Oprah Show  is rated TV-14.

Oprah's long-standing commitment to children led her to initiate the National Child Protection Act in 1991, when she testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to establish a national database of convicted child abusers. On December 20, 1993, the "Oprah Bill" was signed into law. In 2005, Oprah launched Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List and her pledge to provide a $100,000 reward per case to those individuals whom the FBI or local law enforcement officials say provided critical information leading to the capture and arrest of fugitives featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show or Oprah.com. Since its launch, nine of the featured fugitives have been captured.

The Oprah Winfrey Show has remained the number one talk show for 22 consecutive seasons.*  Produced in Chicago by Harpo Productions, Inc., the show is seen by an estimated 44 million viewers a week in the United States** and is broadcast internationally in 140 countries.
 
Sources:
*Nielsen Cassandra Ranking Report - Nov '86 to July '99 and Wrap Sweeps+, Nov '99 to July '08. Wtd Avg DMA HH Rtg, Primary Telecasts Only.
**Nielsen/NPower/P2+ unique viewer average: 1-minute qualifier, L+7, 11/1-11/28/07, 1/31-2/27/08, 4/24-5/21/08, excludes 11/23/07.