Smallscreen News

Oprah and OWN need a NeNe Leakes intervention

By April MacIntyre May 6, 2011, 23:38 GMT

03/05/2011 - NeNe Leakes - "Celebrity Apprentice" Season Premiere Cast Party at Surrender Nightclub in Las Vegas on March 5, 2011 - Surrender Nightclub at Encore Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV, USA © PRN / PR Photos

Never thought I would say this, but a bit of NeNe Leakes would help Oprah's ratings for her struggling network.

The news that Christina Norman, a well-liked and respected executive was let go and Peter Liguori installed as a stop-gap CEO lit up Twitter today as many TV pundit sites expressed that it wasn't Norman to blame for the low ratings.

The rot comes from the head, and the Discovery themes of female journalists trekking the world (Lisa Ling) and the Gayle King Show, Oprah's BFF, laid flat with viewers and critics alike.  Even the reality show to give someone their own OWN series was a bust.

"I want to thank Christina for her important accomplishments, incredible passion and many sacrifices in helping to launch the network," said Winfrey in a statement. "With the final taping of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' only a few weeks away, I will soon be able to devote my full energies to OWN. This is a natural point of transition, and I am confident that Peter, as an integral part of the launch of OWN, will be a terrific partner for me going forward. ... Over the remainder of the year, Peter and I will work together to recruit a permanent CEO for OWN's next phase of growth."

The bottom line is that for OWN to capture some ratings heat, it's going to have to balance the "feel good" edutainment programming Oprah wants to serve up AND slum in the Bravo and Oxygen world of reality narcissist trainwrecks. OWN will have to court the larger-than-life personalities like NeNe Leakes, who stood out on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" this season boosting Trump's ratings.