60 Minutes’ US boss departs amid merger, lawsuit pressure
Bill Owens, veteran executive producer of the US version of 60 Minutes, has resigned, saying recent incidents made it clear he “would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it”.
In a memo to staffers, Owens cited his increasing inability “to make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience” as his reason for standing down.
“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,” he wrote.
“The show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the executive producer.”
Owens is only the third executive producer in the show’s 57-year history. His resignation comes in the midst of an ongoing $10 billion lawsuit levelled at CBS News and parent company Paramount Global last November by President Donald Trump, who claimed a Kamala Harris interview that aired on 60 Minutes was mis-edited by CBS, at the direction of Harris’ campaign.
Bill Owens
Shari Redstone, the majority owner of National Amusements, Paramount Global’s parent company, is currently seeking governmental approval for a pending merger between Paramount and David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
Paramount Global is the parent company to Paramount Australia, owner of Network 10.
In January, Redstone objected to a 60 Minutes segment on the war between Israel and Hamas, and appointed a CBS News director in a new role above Owens, to oversee the show’s journalistic standards.
In February, Owens told 60 Minutes staffers he wouldn’t formally apologise for the editing of the Harris segment. That same month, Redstone told the board of directors at Paramount she wanted to settle the Trump lawsuit.
Shari Redstone
Last week, Trump reacted to a 60 Minutes interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr, writing on his Truth Social platform that 60 Minutes uses his name “in a derogatory and defamatory way”, and the CBS “should lose their license”, urging the Federal Communications Commission to “impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behaviour.”
“CBS is out of control,” Trump continued, “at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this.”
According to insiders quoted by the New York Times, executives at Paramount and at Skydance “took notice of the president’s angry comments.”
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
Linkedin
Have your say