Oprah’s first 60 Minutes story “felt like coming home”

In the six years since Oprah Winfrey’s syndicated talk show went off the air, she has missed hearing from Americans.

“The thing I miss the most is the connection to the audience,” Winfrey tells 60 Minutes Overtime’s Ann Silvio in the video above. “I prided myself on having my finger on the pulse of what people are thinking.

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Now Winfrey’s back in the conversation, as she joins 60 Minutes for the broadcast’s 50th season premiere. For her first 60 Minutes report, Winfrey interviewed a diverse group of voters to talk about the deep political divide in America.

“The thing I miss the most is the connection to the audience. I prided myself on having my finger on the pulse of what people are thinking.”

The panel of 14 participants was assembled by Frank Luntz, a pioneer in the use of focus groups and a contributor to CBS News. Seven participants voted for President Trump; seven did not. Their conversation took place last month in a converted power plant in Grand Rapids and aired on 60 Minutes this week in a story titled “Divided.” Filmed with nine cameras around a table hand-made by the 60 Minutes crew, the story was produced by Graham Messick and Tanya Simon.

Executive producer Jeff Fager says “Divided” is expected to be the first in a series panel discussions with diverse groups of American voters about the country’s political divide. Throughout the season, Winfrey and a team of 60 Minutes producers will go on the road to other cities and towns across America to host similar panel discussions, which will air on the broadcast.

“The plan is to do it at least three times a year,” Fager tells 60 Minutes Overtime. “We’ll decide where we want to go, what we want to talk about, but it doesn’t feel like it’s going away—this sort of divided America—and we want to stay on it.”