CBS News on Thursday announced it is handing the reins of its iconic “60 Minutes” show to longtime insider Tanya Simon — just weeks after its $16 million settlement with President Trump.
Simon, daughter of the late “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, has been running the news magazine on an interim basis since Bill Owens abruptly quit in April amid a lawsuit from Trump over a controversial interview with Kamala Harris.
She is only the fourth executive producer to run the news magazine since it launched in the late 1960s under Don Hewitt’s lead, and the first woman to take the role.
Her appointment comes as CBS News owner Paramount is trying to seal a deal with Skydance Media that requires approval from the FCC. Late Thursday, the agency gave the greenlight to the $8.4 billion deal.
Skydance – the Hollywood studio behind big-screen hits like “Mission: Impossible” – made promises this week to FCC Chair Brendan Carr that it will eliminate DEI practices at CBS News and appoint an ombudsman to root out media bias at the network.
Trump, meanwhile, boasted that he expects to receive an additional $20 million from Skydance in advertising and public service announcements once it takes control of Paramount, confirming an exclusive report by The Post.
That would stack on top of CBS News’ $16 million payment to settle a lawsuit from Trump over the controversially-edited “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris.
Owens had opposed settling Trump’s lawsuit.
Simons has worked at “60 Minutes” for 25 years and her appointment was strongly supported by prominent staffers.
All seven of the current correspondents at “60 Minutes” — Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Bill Whitaker, Anderson Cooper, Sharyn Alfonsi, Jon Wertheim and Cecilia Vega — signed a letter in May urging Paramount to officially make Simon the show’s executive producer, according to the Status newsletter.
“Tanya Simon understands what makes ‘60 Minutes’ tick,” Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News, said in a statement Thursday.
“She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer, and someone who knows how to inspire people.”
Simon has produced for nearly all of the “60 Minutes” correspondents during her time at the network, previously serving as the show’s executive editor for six seasons.
“It is a privilege to lead ‘60 Minutes’ and its formidable team of journalists,” Simon said in a statement Thursday.
“I look forward to delivering an exciting season of signature 60 stories that cover a wide range of subjects for a broad audience and engage viewers with their world.”
Along with scrapping the news station’s DEI policies, Skydance has also vowed to conduct a “comprehensive review” of CBS after the merger goes through to ensure the network is operating in the public interest.
Its ombudsman will remain in place for at least two years and will report directly to the president of CBS News with “any complaints of bias or other concerns,” according to copies of letters sent to the FCC.
Meanwhile, CBS last week canceled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” – eliciting outcry from celebrities and fellow late-night hosts who accused the network of axing the show as part of its settlement with Trump.
The network said it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
