Mike Snider

USA TODAY

Oprah Winfrey will join 60 Minutes this fall in what will be the CBS News show's 50th season.

The media mogul, actress and longtime daytime talk show host will become a special contributor to the Sunday night news program. Winfrey worked with CBS recently on a TV special that aired last month in which Michelle Obama gave her last major interview as first lady to Winfrey.



“I’ve been a big admirer of 60 Minutes since my days as a young reporter,” Winfrey said in a statement. “I’m so excited and proud to join forces with this historic news program, which for me represents the bastion of journalistic storytelling. At a time when people are so divided, my intention is to bring relevant insight and perspective, to look at what separates us, and help facilitate real conversations between people from different backgrounds.”

Winfrey founded cable TV's OWN Network — a joint venture with Discovery Communications and her Harpo Inc., production company — in 2011, the same year she signed off after 25 years of hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show.

She remains active in film and TV serving as producer of Oscar Best Picture-nominee Selma and executive producer of OWN series such as Greenleaf and Queen Sugar, as well as documentaries including Oprah's Master Class: Civil Rights Special. Winfrey will appear in next year's A Wrinkle in Time, a Disney film directed by Selma director Ava DuVernay.

And she recently landed a best-selling cookbookFood, Health and Happiness.

“There is only one Oprah Winfrey,” said 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager in a statement. “She has achieved excellence in everything she has touched. Her body of work is extraordinary, including thousands of interviews with people from all walks of life. She is a remarkable and talented woman with a level of integrity that sets her apart and makes her a perfect fit for 60 Minutes..”

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.



