Opinion: Oprah Winfrey’s “Big Give” Promotes Troubling View of Philanthropy

Despite the charitable intentions of Oprah Winfrey’s much-anticipated reality show Oprah’s Big Give, several columnists across the country are skeptical about Ms. Winfrey’s latest venture.

Big Give, which premieres this Sunday on ABC features eight episodes in which 10 contestants compete to “change the lives of complete strangers in the most creative and dramatic ways” in different locations across the country.

Competitors are given a picture and a name of a stranger in need and then must decide, in teams of two, how to “make a real difference” for that person. At the end of each week, a panel of celebrity judges eliminates one group. A $1-million prize awaits the show’s winner.

Robert Bianco of USA Today says contestants would “be better served by advice from people with hands-on experience in raising money without the benefit of celebrity. “

Mr. Bianco says that the show’s reality format clearly “turns charity into a competitive sport” and lends little attention to the underlying issues that may be affecting those in need. “Give is a throwback to a time when the poor were expected to be grateful for whatever they were given,” he writes. “Seldom has the drive to do good works been as alarmingly, offensively presumptuous.”

A critic for the Mercury News, in San Jose, was more positive about the show. “You’ll find plenty of heartwarming stories and feel-good moments in Oprah’s Big Give, writes Chuck Barney.

Read The Chronicle’s article about the rise of reality television and see Oprah Winfrey’s ranking in the Philanthropy 50, our annual list of the donors who give the most to charity each year.)