Oprah Picks OWN Executive

Lady O. has named former MTV president Christina Norman chief executive officer of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Norman, a 17-year veteran of Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks, will oversee all business, including a new cable channel and Oprah.com. OWN is a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications Inc. The multimedia platform will be introduced later this year or early in 2010 and reach more than 70 million homes, according to Winfrey. The new network will debut on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. The brand will also include a Web site for OWN. The brand’s aim is to “entertain, inform and inspire” women, men and families, Winfrey and Discovery said a year ago when they announced the “cashless” deal.

Norman has been named on Hollywood Reporter’s “Power 100 Women in Entertainment” and Ebony magazine’s “Top 10 African- Americans in Television.”

It’s great to see women continuously making big moves!