Winfrey used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events.

[11] Following Winfrey's success in performing in the role of Sofia in the film The Color Purple (for which she earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations), on September 8, 1986, the talk show was relaunched under its current title and picked up nationally.

[12] For the premiere, the show's producers tried rigorously to book Miami Vice's Don Johnson as the first guest, even trying to bribe him with Dom Pérignon and a pair of rhinestone sunglasses.

When celebrities and newsmakers were ready to share their most intimate secrets their first stop was Winfrey's couch and when a serious story hit, the Oprah show focused on putting a human face on the headlines.

[14] On February 10, 1993, Winfrey sat down in a prime-time special broadcast with Michael Jackson, who had performed ten days earlier in the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show, for what would become the most-watched interview in television history.

During the interview, Jackson attempted to dispel many of the rumors surrounding him and told Winfrey he suffered from the skin-pigment disorder known as vitiligo when asked about the change in the color of his skin.

Cruise "jumped around the set, hopped onto a couch, fell rapturously to one knee and repeatedly professed his love for his then-girlfriend, Katie Holmes.

Winfrey interviewed Kathy Bray three weeks after her 10-year-old son, Scott, was accidentally killed by a friend who had found his father's gun.

After introducing Chase, who was there to promote her book When Rabbit Howls, Winfrey unexpectedly broke down in tears while reading the teleprompter, relating her own childhood molestation to that of the guest.

After realizing that her six-year-old daughter, Peyton, would have to grow up without her, Kramp began recording videotapes filled with motherly advice on everything from makeup tips to finding a husband.

Its popularity caused featured books to shoot to the top of bestseller lists, often increasing sales by as many as a million copies at its peak.

The original format was reintroduced in September 2005, but Winfrey's selection of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces became controversial due to accusations of falsification.

The friends had minor meltdowns and fought for control over the radio; King likes to have music constantly playing while driving, Winfrey prefers silence.

Despite the challenges of the road trip, they got to see the beauty of Sedona, meet the people of Navajo Nation, crash a couple of weddings, take a dip in the healing waters of Pagosa Springs, and learn about Amish culture.

When they arrived, Johnson took Winfrey and King around the park to see some of its famous sites including Mariposa Grove and the Tunnel View, from which El Capitan is visible in the distance.

In what several media commentators have labelled The Oprah Effect, people appearing on this segment such as Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx and singer James Blunt benefited from the extra publicity the show garnered.

A weekly live episode premiered in the show's 23rd season with a panel consisting of Winfrey, Gayle King, Mark Consuelos, and Ali Wentworth.

[38] The show had only been on the air for just six months when, in 1987, Winfrey traveled to Forsyth County, Georgia, a community in which, for 75 years, no black person had lived.

The meeting was becoming heated when one woman stood up and said: I just hate to think that someone is going to get hurt before the people get some sense about them and talk about this and get it like it's supposed to be...black and white together in Forsyth County.

To commemorate achieving her weight loss goals, Winfrey wheeled out a wagon full of fat to represent the 67 pounds she had lost on the diet.

Winfrey was grateful to have the remaining members of the Little Rock Nine on her show because she credits her success to those who have contributed to the Civil Rights Movement which paved the way for people like herself.

[45] In 2007, the Marines of the Second Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion Alpha Company and their naval corpsman, made the show their first stop after a seven-month tour on the front lines in Iraq.

[46] On November 11, 2009, Charla Nash, who was mauled by her friend and employer Sandra Herold's pet chimpanzee Travis, came to the show to speak out for the first time about the terrifying attack that took place just nine months prior.

Nash wears a veil daily because the attack left devastating injuries to her face and she "doesn't want to scare people."

[50] On the season premiere of 2004, every person in Winfrey's show audience was given a new Pontiac G6 that was donated by General Motors,[51] worth about $8 million in total.

For the premiere of the show's farewell season, the studio audience of 300 "ultimate fans" were rewarded by being given a trip to Australia with Winfrey (donated by Australian tourism bodies).

The show was still producing new episodes at the time of the trial and could not go into reruns, so the production was forced to move to Amarillo, Texas for a period of approximately one month during the proceedings.

[61] Winfrey's program was criticized for featuring alternative medicine and junk science advocates such as Suzanne Somers and vaccine denialist Jenny McCarthy.

[68] However, while making the 1998 movie Beloved, Winfrey then admitted that it brought her back to her responsibility as an admired black woman with a great deal of power and influence.

[74] The beach-themed party, hosted by New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally, featured live music and a fireworks display over the water which culminated in the lighting of a red 'O' on the Harbour Bridge.