Legendary “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Perry launched an astonishing on-air attack on his Paramount boss to thwart coverage of the program.
Perry became a rogue at the end of Sunday night’s episode with what appeared to be a simple homage to longtime “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who quit last week about his company’s forced interference.
“Bill resigned on Tuesday – it was tough for him and tough for us,” Perry said in his closing remarks on the show, which he has been working on for over 20 years.
“But he did it for us – and you,” he told viewers – and then unexpectedly suggested that he could end an era of reporting that Owens’ exit was “accurate and fair.”
“Our parent company, Paramount, is about to complete the merger,” he said, saying it needs approval from the Trump administration.
“Paramount has begun to oversee our content in a new way,” he said.
Perry said “none of our stories were blocked,” but Owens “feels that we’ve lost the independence that honest journalism needs.”
“No one here is happy about it, but by resigning, Bill proved one thing. He was the right person to lead the ’60 minutes’ the whole time. ”
Owens walked away after a $20 billion lawsuit filed by President Trump, denounced the “illegal and illegal conduct” program that the president argued last October as a deceptive compilation of a “60-minute” interview with then-President Kamala Harris.
“Over the past few months, it has also become clear that I am not allowed to run the show because I have always done it. To make independent decisions based on “60 minutes of right,” Owens wrote in a note last week.
“So I’m defending this show and getting aside from every angle, what we represent, as much as I can over time, and to make the show move forward,” he wrote.
Trump has even suggested that he would withdraw the CBS broadcast license.
The Post previously reported that Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, who is involved in settlement talks between the Trump administration and her company, wanted Owens to go away.
Owens, the 57-year-old show’s third executive producer, has been replaced by his daughter, interim Tanya Simon, executive editor of “60 minutes” correspondent Bill Simon.
