Dethroning the queen

Costas Panagopoulos, an assistant professor of political science at New York's Fordham University, says that Winfrey's popularity has dropped significantly since she announced her support for her home state senator.

"Much hay was made nearly a year ago when Oprah Winfrey announced that she would support -- and campaign for -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama," Panagopoulos writes. "But what has received far less attention is the impact Oprah's endorsement has had on her own popularity."

Panagopoulos points to a January 2007 Gallup/USA Today poll that found 74 percent of Americans reported favorable impressions of Oprah. By December, the number had fallen to 55 percent in a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics survey, which Panagopoulos calls the "lowest level of favorability ever registered for Oprah in opinion surveys."

The author also points to an AOL Television popularity poll released last month, which seemed to show talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was more popular than Winfrey among the 1.35 million people who participated.

But that's not all. Some Christians say they are angry at Oprah about Winfrey's latest book club selection, Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, currently number 2 on the Amazon.com bestseller list. A new YouTube video, called The Church of Oprah Exposed, slams Winfrey's book choice and claims that the "New Age" book is contributing to what the video calls "The Church of Oprah." The video has been seen 4.4 million times on YouTube, and it's been mentioned in the New York Times and on MSNBC.

Like any public figure, the billionaire media mogul has always had her critics, but the Obama endorsement may have created an opportunity for the critics to get a new platform. Is there a lesson for Winfrey? "It is possible," says Panagopoulos, "that the public prefers high-profile entertainment personalities to stay on the tube and off the stump," he writes.

But Winfrey may have the last laugh. In a Parade magazine survey released last week, the Chicago talk show host was named the top-earning celebrity of 2007, raking in an eye-popping $260 million last year alone. Winfrey made more than twice as much as golf sensation Tiger Woods, who had to settle for a cool $115 million.