Bill Owens

Dear Commons Community,

The executive producer of CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, said he will leave his job, citing an increasing lack of ability “to make independent decisions based on what was right for ’60 Minutes,’ right for the audience” as parent company Paramount Global tries to move past a lawsuit filed against CBS News by President Donald Trump and secure its future in a merger with Skydance Media.  As reported by Variety.

“Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” Owens told staffers in a memo Tuesday, adding: “So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could,  I am stepping aside so the show can move forward.” Owens made his announcement during an emotional Tuesday meeting with “60 Minutes” staffers, including Scott Pelley, according to a person familiar with the matter, and received a standing ovation from staff.

One “60 Minutes” staffer suggested personnel ascribed Owens’ exit to Paramount’s corporate desires. “Bill Owens cares deeply about upholding the quality and independence of ’60 Minutes,’ as all of us who work on this legendary broadcast do,” this person says. “It’s quite obvious now that sentiment is not shared by those at the top of the corporation eager to get a deal done.”

Tanya Simon will serve as the program’s interim leader, and is seen as a likely candidate to replace Owens at the helm, according to two people familiar with the matter. Simon was named executive editor of the program in 2019 and has been with CBS News since 1996. If named to the role permanently, she would be the first woman to lead the show in its many decades on air. She is the daughter of Bob Simon, a former “60 Minutes” correspondent. The show is not expected to change any of its current story plans, this person says.

CBS is “committed to ’60 Minutes’ and to ensuring that the mission and the work remain our priority,” said Wendy McMahon, the executive who oversees CBS News, and the company’s local station and syndication business, in a memo.  “We have already begun conversations with correspondents and senior leaders, and those will continue in the days and weeks ahead.”

Paramount Global declined to comment.

But the company’s view of “60 Minutes” as a potential distraction from its deal plans had become clear. In January, Paramount installed Susan Zirinsky, a former CBS News president, as a sort of “executive editor” assigned to deal with standards and practices after CBS News grappled not only with the aforementioned lawsuit, but also other controversies that included “60 Minutes” and “CBS Mornings.” After some time, it had become more clear that Owens and “60 Minutes” were being handled differently than in the past, even though the program has its own executives assigned to navigate journalism issues and legal practices.

Owens’ decision to leave comes as executives at Paramount, including controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, have continued to express interest in settling a lawsuit filed by Trump in federal court in the Northern District of Texas in November, alleging that “60 Minutes” tried to mislead voters by airing two different edits of remarks made in an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, then Trump’s rival for the White House. CBS sought to have the case thrown out, and many legal experts have expressed the notion that the suit’s legal standing is flimsy.

His departure is likely to be seen as a stain on Paramount’s management of the program, which is in the midst of its 57th season.

Broadcast-news divisions generate much of the controversy around media conglomerates such as Paramount, Comcast, and Disney, but in most cases, only a small portion of the profits. To be sure, “60 Minutes” has run headlong into the economics of its corporate owners in the past. In 1995, CBS forced the newsmagazine, then run by founder Don Hewitt, to hold a report alleging that tobacco giant Brown & Williamson had hidden the health risks inherent in its cigarettes. At the time, some CBS executives had an interest in avoiding legal entanglements with that company. In the end, The Wall Street Journal beat “60 Minutes” to the story, and CBS News was accused by The New York Times of betraying the legacy of one of its best-known journalists, Edward R. Murrow. And the show has created plenty of controversy in the past, sometimes with unforced errors. In 2013, then-correspondent Lara Logan took a leave of absence from the show after a flawed report on Benghazi was found to have failed to substantiate some of the assertions of one of its key sources.

Other sizable media companies have kowtowed to Trump in a bid to make legal pressures vanish. Disney late last year agreed to pay a settlement of $15 million to Donald Trump’s presidential library after anchor George Stephanopoulos asserted incorrectly in March of 2024 on air that Trump had been found liable in a court case for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.

Owens has in recent weeks urged the program’s popular correspondents to focus on their jobs, but according to three people familiar with the matter, there have been discussions among staffers about how to protest any perception that Paramount would actively undermine the program, one of the jewels of TV journalism, by settling a legal matter viewed by many experts as flimsy at best. Trump and Paramount had already engaged a mediator to help settle the matter, having been unable to do so on their own.

Owens had been firm in recent weeks that “60 Minutes” should not be forced to apologize for the use of different edits of interview last year of former Vice President Kamala Harris in the days ahead of the 2024 election. One edit, shown during a short promo on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” and one that aired on the newsmagazine itself, which provided different portions of the then-Democratic candidate’s response, were used to accuse CBS News of deceptive practices.

His departure could upset other CBS News endeavors. Owens was also overseeing a massive effort to overhaul “CBS Evening News,” and had put in place a new format that relies less on the breaking stories of the day and more feature stories and enterprise news that examines reaction to Washington policy from across the nation. The show has two anchors, rather than the usual single host, and has grappled with ratings challenges since its debut earlier this year.

Owens took the reins at “60 Minutes” in 2019, following the departure of previous head Jeff Fager. During his time at the helm, he has tested an array of new ways to make the program relevant to younger viewers, including a version of the newsmagazine for streaming outlets including Paramount+ and the now-defunct Quibi. The show recently expanded its foray into podcasts and a free ad-supported streaming channel as well.

 Good luck to Mr. Owens!

Tony

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