Oprah Winfrey 'proud of OWN debut'

Oprah Winfrey has described the debut of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) as "absolutely extraordinary".

Access Hollywood reports that at the Television Critics Association Winter 2011 Session, the talkshow host reflected on how far she has come since her troubled childhood in small-town America.

“This has been a revelatory week for me,” she told reporters.

"[I was thinking] how absolutely extraordinary it is that I can sit in this place with my name on a network coming from a little town in Mississippi that people still can’t pronounce [the name of]."

Winfrey went on to say that she hopes to create "mindful television" with the network which she believes can be achieved by remaining "connected to the audience".

“As we continue to build the channel and the message - I am the messenger - the message [is] that here is a place where you can come and you can leave this television on… all day long and there is not going to be one thing that causes you not to sleep at night," she said.

The OWN network premiered on January 1.

DS