Oprah Winfrey will debut as a special contributor on "60 minutes" this Sunday, September 24, on CBS. The popular and influential media personality shared her excitement on social media as she embarks on a new chapter.
The former daytime talk show host posted a photo of herself holding a CBS identification card on her Instagram profile. It signified Oprah Winfrey’s official stint with the news magazine show.
Grew up watching '60 Minutes'
"To be a part of this esteemed group of storytellers is one of the great honors of my career, I would have to say," Oprah Winfrey said via Variety.
She also said she grew up watching "60 Minutes" and it made an impact on her choice to become a reporter in her '20s.
Oprah Winfrey's addition coincides with the 50th anniversary of "60 Minutes."
In 1986, the show actually did a feature on her as a budding journalist with one of the show’s correspondents, Mike Wallace. The media star shared via CBS New York that she felt nervous during that interview but it became her breakout moment.
Oprah Winfrey’s clout as a journalist eventually rose when she hosted her daytime talk show until 2011. She also built her own media empire with magazines like O and the OWN TV network. She became one of the richest and most powerful women not just in Hollywood but in the whole of America.
Her first piece as contributor
The new “60 Minutes” contributor’s first piece will be about the political divide among Americans. She filmed her interviews in August in Grand Rapids, Michigan where she talked to locals and representatives. She got the idea while talking to Trump and Clinton supporters right after the elections.
“60 Minutes” executive producer Jeff Fager revealed that Oprah Winfrey will likely do four or five stories for the show this season.
“But she’s motivated and it could be more,” Fager told Newsday. “She sees that at this particular moment, it’s a nice place to be and there are not many news programs who can still attract the mass audience we do.”
“60 Minutes” returns for season 50 on Sunday, Sept.
24, at 7:00 p.m. EST on CBS. Winfrey joins the rank as seasoned journalists like Wallace, Walter Cronkite, Ed Bradley, Dan Rather, Connie Chung, Christiane Amanpour and Sanjay Gupta, who have been special correspondents over the decades.
The current correspondents of “60 Minutes” include Anderson Cooper, Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and Sharyn Alfonsi. The show is hosted by Steve Kroft, Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Lara Logan and Bill Whitaker.
