And thus an era ends. As rumored she would, Oprah Winfrey announced today that she will give up her syndicated show to focus on building her cable network.

Oprah ends a 25 year run that puts hers up with Fidel Castro and Muammar al-Gaddafi as one of the most durable dictatorships of our age. According to Variety, Oprah broke the news to her staffers today and will inform her subjects in the television audience on the air tomorrow that the dream will come to an end in less than two years. On September 9, 2011, Oprah will broadcast her last syndicated show.

She leaves to focus on the fledgling Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) which has been struggling without the presence of its namesake since it launched in partnership with Discovery.