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Oprah Winfrey Becomes Special Contributor To '60 Minutes'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) -- Oprah Winfrey will contribute several stories to the coming season of "60 Minutes," CBS announced Tuesday.

Oprah will make her first appearance on CBS News' legendary Sunday night broadcast this fall.

Winfrey will be a "special contributor," CBS said. This means she'll have several stories on the upcoming season of the newsmagazine.

CBS declined to comment on the length of Winfrey's contributor deal.

Jeff Fager, the executive producer of the program, said it was "invigorating" discussing the partnership.

"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. I am thrilled that she will be bringing her unique and powerful voice to our broadcast."

Winfrey's main outlet remains OWN, the cable channel she co-owns with Discovery Communications. But "60 Minutes" will allow her to reach many more people with a single segment. The program regularly draws 10 to 20 million viewers a week.

In a statement on Tuesday, she said, "I've been a big admirer of '60 Minutes' since my days as a young reporter. I'm so excited and proud to join forces with this historic news program, which for me represents the bastion of journalistic storytelling."

She added: "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's longtime friend Gayle King already works for CBS as the co-host of "CBS This Morning." That's where the contributor news was announced on Tuesday.

"I am so psyched about it," King said on the show. "I know she's equally excited. She has said all the time she doesn't miss the day-to-day of the show, but what she does miss is storytelling and connecting with people, women in particular, and being able to meet and talk to them and interact with them. That's what she really misses. So to me, this is a perfect marriage."

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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