The Pajama Party That Failed, Shannon
James, Independent Women’s Forum
The popular description of Oxygen at its onset was ‘refreshing,’
with its creators’ mission to ‘create a new network that will focus
on women and treat us like the busy, smart, and complex people we
are.’ But Shannon James in Independent Women’s Forum
says that the all-women’s network fell way off that mark, and
instead hosts ‘public affairs programming (that) condescends to
women’ and the usual talk shows whose main topics are fashion and
romance. All of this would be doubly insulting if women were
actually watching the network. ‘In fact,’ says James, ‘No one is.’
The network’s Nielsen ratings are dismal, and James says that
‘though Oxygen persists in its attempt to create a pink ghetto for
the ‘sisterhood,’ it’s to women’s credit that they’re not moving
in. It appears that ‘underserved’ women are breathing just fine on
their own.’
–Julie Madsen
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