She was the first black woman to host (and eventually produce) a nationally syndicated talkshow. Not only that, it was one of the first talkshows not focused on celebrity gossip and entertainment promotion. Oprah zeroed in on social issues and problems faced by everyday people, something no one else was doing outside of dedicated news programs. And it was being done on daytime TV when cable was still new.

Unfortunately, she lacks material analysis and her class interests became aligned with capital. Because of this, Oprah can't identify problems and solutions the way socialists can. This always leads to woo-woo shit, just like how liberalism always decays into fascism.