Okay, this is not earth-shattering, but it gives interesting insight into Ms. Enlightenment. Samantha NYPost.com Business http://www.nypost.com/04182000/business/kelly.htm OPRAH DEFENDS HER GAG ORDER RULE FOR STAFFERS By KEITH J. KELLY Oprah Winfrey may be the feel-good queen of TV magazines, but if you work for her - or ever have - you're not allowed to say anything nasty about her. In a generally upbeat press conference for the launch of O, the Oprah Magazine, Winfrey admitted that she required all employees on the magazine to sign agreements not to discuss Oprah and her projects - apparently for the rest of their lives. "We do have a confidentiality agreement with the magazine," said Oprah. And getting out of the gag order can prove tough, as one former employee of Harpo Inc., Winfrey's TV production company is finding out. Elizabeth Coady, a former producer for Harpo, wanted to write a tell-all book about her experiences - but so far has been unable to shake off the gag order in court. Oprah, while not identifying her by name at the press conference, alluded to the suit filed by what she called a "disgruntled former employee." Asked how Oprah could reconcile her big endorsement of the First Amendment and freedom of speech with the stifling of present and past employees, Oprah said she had been "abused" and "sold out" by former employees and even relatives who have said things that Oprah claimed were false. Winfrey defended the restrictive covenants for employees: "I have to function in an environment where I feel I could trust my employees." The result can have a chilling effect on employees - even those who seem to be leaving on good terms. Copy Chief Laura Vitale, who last week decided to rejoin her old employer, Conde Nast, was apparently afraid to even verify her new job when a reporter called her at O recently. Coady, after the gag order was upheld by a Illinois courts reportedly said, "There is no sense of justice inside, which is so ironic in light of the public impage of someone who touts herself as an advocate for business ethics and spirituality." Back to Business | Home -------- Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter May 3,2000 http://www.1pr.com/nl2000/0503.htm WINFREY PUTS A GAG ON HER EMPLOYEES Oprah Winfrey, who said "Free speech not only lives, it rocks," after a not guilty verdict was handed down February 1998 by a U.S. District Court jury in Amarillo, Tex., muzzles her own employees. A group of Texas cattle ranchers had sued Winfrey, claiming she and a guest had "knowingly and falsely depicted American beef as unsafe" in a segment called "Dangerous Food" that aired April 16, 1996 on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." "I come from a people who have struggled and died in order to have a voice in this country and I refuse to be muzzled," said Winfrey as she left the courthouse. But, to work at Harpo Inc., the corporate parent of Winfrey's production studio operation, all employees must sign a confidentiality agreement that muzzles them for the rest of their lives. Winfrey's covenant says employees are "obligated to keep confidential and never disclose, use, misappropriate, or confirm or deny the veracity of any statement or comment" concerning the private life or business dealings of Winfrey or Harpo. Elizabeth Coady, a former senior associate producer for Harpo, who challenged the legality of the agreement in March 1998 when she quit, described Harpo as "a company ruled by fear." "There's no sense of justice inside, which is so ironic in light of the public image of someone who touts herself as an advocate for business ethics and spirituality," said Coady, who wanted to write a book about her experiences producing episodes of Winfrey's talk show for 4.5 years. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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