The Executive Producer of 60 Minutes Has Clocked Out
Looks like Bill Owens believes he’s been c-ing some b.s. at CBS. Per the New York Times, the longtime 60 Minutes executive producer has resigned, citing concerns over his journalistic independence in a Tuesday memo to staff. “Over the past few months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” he wrote. “To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience. 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.” According to an audio recording obtained by Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, Owens — who has worked for CBS for nearly four decades and is the third person to run 60 Minutes in the news program’s 57-year history — also shared the news of his departure in a meeting that was attended by top staff. (Lesley Stahl was in the room, while Anderson Cooper called in from Rome.) “It’s clear that I’ve become the problem. I am the corporation’s problem,” Owens reportedly said, fighting back tears as he went on to express his hope that this “will be a moment for the corporation to take a hard look at itself and its relationship with us.”
His exit comes amid pressure on CBS from President Donald Trump, who has sued the network and parent company Paramount for $20 billion over allegations that a 60 Minutes interview last year with then-vice president Kamala Harris was deceptively edited. Owens reportedly told staffers in February that he would not apologize to Trump for the segment. Meanwhile, Paramount controlling owner Shari Redston — who is hoping to sell her company in a multi-billion dollar deal that needs approval from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission — wants to settle the Trump lawsuit, according to the Times.
Semafor reports that Owens’s resignation comes just days after Redstone tried to find out which upcoming 60 Minutes stories were about Trump (though a spokesperson for Redstone denied that she saw or sought to see any stories, adding that she and Paramount were not looking to kill any stories). In any case, Owens asserted in his Tuesday memo that 60 Minutes will “continue to cover the new administration, as we will report on future administrations” in his absence. He concluded his message with both gratitude and an instruction: “Thank you all, remain focused on the moment, our audience deserves it.”
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