Early Career
Chris Clark and Oprah
Oprah took her first job at a local grocery store when she was just a teenager. She was not allowed to talk to the customers at the grocery store, which was very difficult for Oprah. She reportedly hated every minute of it. At age 16, Oprah took a job as a news reporter on a local Nashville radio station, WVOL. It was the complete opposite of the grocery store job. Oprah said she loved the change. Her work at WVOL led to a big break in her career. When Oprah was a sophomore at Tennessee State University she was offered a news casting job by Channel Five’s Chris Clark. In order to get the job, Oprah lied to Clark, saying that she could run cameras and write news stories. The first time she was on television, she said it was the most natural thing she had ever done. “It was just like breathing” and “it felt like this is where I’m supposed to be,” Oprah said of her early television experience.