With Oprah Winfrey winding down her syndicated TV show, there’s a scramble among various wannabes to get their fifteen minutes of fame on her show, the New York Times reports.

Says the article, " ‘When Johnny Carson left, all the stand-up comedians in the world were lamenting because being on Carson was a dream for so many people,’ said Cindy Ratzlaff, president of Brand New Brand You, a marketing and media strategy company. ‘And this is the same thing. Having your Oprah moment is the same as stand-ups wishing they had their Johnny Carson moment.’ "

As the story notes, "Ms. Winfrey, 56, is not vanishing. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, a new cable channel she created with her production company and Discovery Communications, is scheduled to make its debut on Jan. 1. But when her stage goes dark after 25 seasons, so will a spotlight sharply focused on entrepreneurs, writers and self-help gurus, and with it, a method that generations used to calibrate career success."