Oprah To Start National Talent Search

When Oprah Winfrey‘s 25-year stint as a talk-show host ends in 2011, the over-achiever is probably going to need some distractions. And what better way than starting her own television network? Well, another cable channel – Winfrey helped launch the Oxygen Channel in 2000. Winfrey’s new network, to be called, unimaginatively, The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), will launch in January.

One of its first announced programs, Your Own Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star, will be a talent search aided by TV producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice). "Much in the way American Idol finds unknown people, there’s no reason we can’t find someone who deserves their own show," Burnett told the Daily Star.

Video applications to be on the show are currently being accepted at oprah.com/own. Categories include "Traditional Talk Show," "Cooking," and "Interior Design or Fashion," among others. –ELENA COX