‘60 Minutes’ Top Producer Resigns: Says He Lost Journalistic Independence Amid Trump Fight
Key Facts
The program’s executive producer, Bill Owens, told staff on Tuesday the show would continue, but “over the past months, it has 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,” The New York Times reported, citing a copy of the memo he sent to staff.
While Owens did not mention Trump in his memo, the president is in settlement talks with CBS over a $10 billion lawsuit he filed in response to a “60 Minutes” interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in which Trump claims the network edited some of her answers to make her seem more competent.
CBS ran a preview of Harris’ response to a question which was different from her longer response that aired as part of “60 Minutes.”
The network said it aired one part of Harris’ response in the preview, and another part during the program.
Meanwhile, CBS parent company, Paramount, is seeking the approval of the Federal Communications Commission to sell to Skydance, and its controlling shareholder—Shari Redstone—is reportedly in favor of settling the “60 Minutes” lawsuit with Trump in hopes of completing the mult-billion-dollar merger.
Owens said in February he would not apologize as part of any settlement, The Times reported previously, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation.
Key Background
Trump, even prior to his time in politics, has made a habit of suing media outlets for unfavorable coverage. During his second term in office, he has used the White House briefing room to wield power over the press, barring some legacy outlets such as the Associated Press from obtaining one of the coveted spots in place of right-wing journalists, such as Natalie Winters with Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast. He’s also slammed some of the most damning stories about his second presidency as “fake news,” including deportations that may have defied court orders and the media frenzy surrounding his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal app to communicate sensitive military plans. The FCC has also announced investigations into NPR and PBS over their commercial advertising practices, and Trump is expected to announce plans to cut more than $1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasting, multiple outlets reported earlier this month. Trump has been particularly critical of “60 Minutes.” Earlier this month, he blasted the program’s coverage of his role in the Russia-Ukraine war and his desire to take over Greenland, accusing CBS of “unlawful and illegal behavior on Truth Social, while urging the FCC to revoke CBS’ license and “impose the maximum fines and punishment.”
Tangent
Trump tapped longtime Republican FCC commissioner Brendan Carr to lead the commission in January. Carr, who wrote the FCC section of the conservative Project 2025 blueprint for a second term, has repeatedly targeted media corporations that don’t align with Trump’s ideology, including an investigation into “60 Minutes” over its editing of the Harris special and a probe into Comcast’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
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