Live Aid, going green, global warming - not the most popular topics of discussion in the black community.
Stop us when we start lying!
We're all so busy paying rent, keeping our men out of trouble, or googling the latest haps with Beyonce or Shemar Moore being caught nude on a gay beach, it's hard to thing about some damn whales.
Once the Oprah Effect takes hold, however, all bets are off.
Discovery's documentary series 'Planet Earth' suddenly is being discussed as some new sensation the likes of which supercede any exchanges about who turned out Essence Fest 07.
And it's all because of talk-show sistagirl Ms. Winfrey. Just when Madison Avenue felt the Discovery Channel had lost its way because of mind-expanding fare like "American Chopper," salvation came this spring in the form of a snow leopard and Lady O.
The leopard was just one of the stars of "Planet Earth," a $25 million co-production with the BBC.
And Winfrey was so taken by advance footage of the 11 episodes that she repeatedly commanded her viewers to watch. "You, everybody you know, everybody in your family, should watch this show - because we all live on planet Earth."
The Oprah Effect helped the average Sunday-night airing of "Planet Earth" draw 5.1 million viewers back in March - nearly twice as many eyeballs as the typical "O'Reilly Factor." An edition of the DVD is currently one of the top sellers on Amazon. A second season and a movie are in the offing.
And Oprah, well she'll always have us at "hello."
Stop us when we start lying!
Original story by Devin Leonard, Fortune senior writer