“60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens abruptly quit the long-running CBS News program on Tuesday, fueling consternation at the network as it fights its high-stakes legal battle with President Donald Trump.
Trump is seeking $20 billion in a lawsuit against CBS, alleging election interference over its handling of a “60 Minutes” interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The president accused CBS of aiding his 2024 Democratic opponent through deceptive editing just weeks before the presidential election. CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, agreed to mediation, signaling their courtroom feud will result in a settlement.
On Tuesday, Owens announced to colleagues he’s removing himself from the newsroom drama.
“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. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience,” Owens wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. “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.”
“The show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer,” he said.
TOP ’60 MINUTES’ PRODUCER RESIGNS FROM SHOW, CITES LACK OF INDEPENDENCE
Trump attorney Ed Paltzik told Fox News Digital, “CBS and Paramount committed the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history. That the 60 Minutes boss resigned the same week as CBS settled a major discrimination claim is even further proof of their reckless disregard for truth and the law. President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion.” That settlement involved a lawsuit brought by a script coordinator who alleged he was passed over for a writing job on the CBS program “SEAL Team” because of the network’s DEI policies.
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham, a conservative media watchdog, was baffled that Owens cited journalistic independence as the reason he was walking away.
“They often describe their work as ‘independent’ when another definition would be ‘tremendously biased.’ Anyone currently watching ’60 Minutes’ would wonder how anyone could claim they’re not allowed to ‘independently’ go after Trump with a hammer and tongs,” Graham told Fox News Digital.
Graham believes the true reason for Owens’ departure is related to Trump’s legal battle against CBS. The lawsuit stems from an exchange Harris had with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, who asked her why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t “listening” to the Biden administration.
Harris was widely mocked for the “word salad” answer that aired in a preview clip of the interview on “Face the Nation.” However, when Whitaker asked the same question during the primetime special, Harris had a different, more concise response. Critics at the time accused CBS News of editing Harris’ “word salad” answer to shield the then-vice president from further backlash leading up to Election Day.
Earlier this year, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr ordered CBS News to hand over the unedited transcript of the interview as part of its investigation into whether the network violated the FCC’s “news distortion” policy after a complaint was filed. CBS had refused to release the unedited transcript when the controversy first began.
The released raw transcript and footage showed that both sets of Harris’ comments came from the same response, but CBS News had aired only the first half of her response in the “Face the Nation” preview clip and aired the second half during the primetime special.
TRUMP, CBS PARENT COMPANY SET FOR MEDIATION IN $20 BILLION ‘60 MINUTES’ LAWSUIT
Trump’s attorneys amended the lawsuit to include multiple excerpts from the unedited transcript in hopes of bolstering their case that CBS News withheld unflattering exchanges in order to help the Democratic nominee.
Owens reportedly told staffers he was not willing to apologize, but Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, is reportedly in favor of settling with the president.
Many believe Paramount Global is hoping to settle the suit ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media in hopes of preventing potential retribution by Trump’s FCC, which has the authority to halt the multibillion-dollar transaction.
Leading up to Owens’ exit, Redstone reportedly “kept tabs” on which upcoming “60 Minutes” segments were about Trump. While a spokesperson for Redstone told Semafor neither she nor Paramount sought to kill stories, one source told Semafor that Redstone had been privately and publicly critical of “60 Minutes” in recent months.
“It seems like the people making this show every week are responding to Trump’s lawsuit by doubling down on anti-Trump fervor,” Graham said.
“But we can guess these self-appointed white knights on their high horses are upset with executives who might negotiate in any way with Team Trump,” Graham continued. “Owens refuses to apologize for CBS’s lack of professionalism, and maybe someone would prefer that he does to get a settlement done. So, he quits.”
Owens expressed concern about a recent uptick in oversight from CBS executives during an internal meeting on Tuesday when informing staffers of his abrupt exit, according to The New York Times.
DePauw University journalism professor Jeffrey McCall said Owens is “falling on his sword for losing his journalistic independence,” but feels corporate overlords have been looming over the news industry for years.
“A key question is whether the execs at CBS were trying to micromanage Owens or just trying to provide corporate vision to the program,” McCall told Fox News Digital.
CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
