Invoice Owens, the manager producer of 60 Minutes, says he’s leaving the flagship information program as a result of he misplaced his journalistic independence.
In a workers memo obtained by the New York Instances, Owens stated that “over the previous months, it has turn out to be clear that I might not be allowed to run the present as I’ve all the time run it, to make impartial choices based mostly on what was proper for 60 Minutes, proper for the viewers”.
He continued: “So, having defended this present – and what we stand for – from each angle, over time with every part I may, I’m stepping apart so the present can transfer ahead.”
He stated the present will proceed to cowl the brand new Trump administration, including: “The present is just too essential to the nation. It has to proceed, simply not with me as the manager producer.”
Owens is barely the third producer to run 60 Minutes in its 57-year historical past, following Jeff Fager and its founding showrunner, Don Hewitt.
His departure comes amid a long-running dispute between Donald Trump and the CBS program over a lawsuit he filed over its enhancing of an interview with Kamala Harris within the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Trump stated in his lawsuit that CBS Information engaged in “partisan and illegal acts of election and voter interference” by enhancing its 7 October interview with Harris. A solution Harris gave about Israel’s conflict in Gaza was launched on-line, however was not a part of the complete broadcast.
CBS has denied the declare, saying Trump’s lawsuit was an try by authorities officers to “punish” journalism establishments for his or her editorial choices.
In a separate word on Tuesday, the CBS Information president, Wendy McMahon, praised Owens and stated she remained “dedicated to 60 Minutes and to making sure that the mission and the work stay our precedence.”.
“Standing behind what he stood for was a simple choice for me, and I by no means took without any consideration that he did the identical for me,” she wrote.
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