“CBS Evening News” paid tribute to the producers of the outgoing “60 Minutes” with John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois frankly about the corporate pressures the network faces from President Donald Trump.
“Finally, tonight, it’s a personal story for us here at CBS News,” Dickerson told viewers at the end of Tuesday’s newscast. “Our friend and colleague, Bill Owens, announced today that he will step down as executive producer for ’60 Minutes’. ”
“While the ’60 minutes’ broadcast for over half a century is pride in its independent reporting, Owens said he was not allowed to run the broadcast and make independent decisions when he was executed,” Dubois said.
’60 min’ producer’s sudden exit burns drama on CBS news to fight the network Trump lawsuit
“CBS Evening News” in a newscast on Tuesday, “CBS Evening News” Maurice Dubois and John Dickerson paid tribute to “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens. (Screenshot/CBS News)
Dickerson continued to acknowledge that “60 minutes” was at the heart of Trump’s lawsuit against the network, but said “CBS parent Paramount Global is trying to settle this lawsuit as it works to complete a merger that requires government approval.”
Paramount Global will be integrated with SkyDance media, which requires permission from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
“Owens is standing firm and will not apologise, claiming that ’60 minutes’ has done nothing wrong,” DuBois said.
“Bill Owens was also the director and producer of this broadcast. He is a sincere person. We thank him for his wisdom, his guidance and, above all, his friendship,” Dickerson said.
“And we can’t thank him enough,” DuBois added.
CBS News did not respond immediately Fox News DigitalRequest a comment.
Top “60 Minutes” producer resigns from the show and cites lack of independence
“60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens suddenly left the program, claiming he was unable to make independent decisions on CBS. (SportsFile for collisions via Piarasómídheach/Sportsfile Getty Images)
Trump is seeking $20 billion in a lawsuit against CBS and claims election interference in handling the “60-minute” interview with then-President Kamala Harris last year. The president accused CBS of supporting 2024 Democratic opponents through deceptive editorials a few weeks before the presidential election. CBS’ parent company Paramount Global agrees to mediation and informs that the court feud will lead to a settlement.
Owens announced Tuesday that he was excluded from the newsroom drama to his colleagues.
“Over the past few months, it has become clear that I am not allowed to run the show because I have always been doing it. To make independent decisions based on what is right for the audience, based on what is right for 60 minutes,” Owens wrote in a note obtained by Fox News Digital. “So I’m on the sidelines to defend this show and what we represent, from every angle, as much as I can over time, and I’m on the sidelines so that the show can move forward.”
“The show is too important for the country. It needs to continue. I’m not with me as an executive producer,” he said.
Trump, CBS parent company is set for mediation in a $20 billion “60 minute” lawsuit
It has previously been reported that Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, is in favor of resolving Trump’s lawsuit to clear the path of Paramount’s merger with SkyDance.
Owens expressed concern about the recent rise in surveillance from CBS executives at an internal meeting Tuesday when informing staff of his sudden departure. New York Times.
His exit, to Redstone Reportedly “holds the tab” The upcoming “60 Minute” segment was about Trump.
A Redstone spokesman told Semafor that neither she nor Paramount wanted to kill the story, but a source told Semafor that Redstone had been personally and publicly critical of “60 minutes” in recent months.
Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of CBS News’ parent company, Paramount, has reportedly wanted to settle Trump’s lawsuit in order for the planned merger with SkyDance Media to move forward. (Getty Images)
The lawsuit comes from the exchange Harris swapped for “60 minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, and why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “hadn’t heard” the Biden administration.
Harris was widely laughed out About the answer to “Word Salad,” which aired in a preview clip of the “Face the Nation” interview. However, when Whitaker asked the same question during the Primetime Special, Harris responded in another, more concise response. Critics at the time accused CBS news of compiling Harris’s “Word Salad” answers, protecting the then-president from further backlash until Election Day.
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Earlier this year, the FCC chair Brendan Kerr After the complaint was filed, we ordered CBS News to hand over an unedited transcript of the interview as part of an investigation into whether the network violated the FCC’s “news distortion” policy. CBS had refused to release unedited transcripts when the controversy first began.
The raw transcript and footage released showed that both sets of Harris’ comments came from the same response, but CBS News aired only the first half of her response in the “Face the Nation” preview clip, and the second half of her response on Primetime Special.
