A leadership shake-up is underway at 60 Minutes.
On April 22, 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens announced that he would be stepping away from the legacy CBS newsmagazine. In his resignation memo, obtained by several outlets, Owens cited an inability to “make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience. “
He continued, “The show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer.”
Owens began his journalism career as a summer intern at CBS News in 1988, before joining 60 Minutes in 2003. In February 2019, he took on the role of executive producer, becoming the third person to run the program since it aired in 1968.
The news of his departure comes amid Paramount’s legal battle with President Donald Trump, who is suing the show over an interview they conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential campaign.
So, what is going on at 60 Minutes? Here’s everything to know about why producer Bill Owens resigned from 60 Minutes — and what the program’s correspondents have said about his departure.
Why did 60 Minutes‘ producer Bill Owens quit?
Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile for Collision via Getty
Bill Owens, executive producer of ’60 Minutes,’ CBS News during day two of Collision 2022 in Toronto.
In his memo, Owens explained that after defending the program “from every angle, over time with everything [he] could,” he was stepping aside from 60 Minutes so that the “show can move forward.”
“I have worked at CBS News for 37 years, more than half of that at 60 Minutes, I have been shot at and threatened with jail for protecting a source. I have overseen more than 600 stories as Executive Producer of 60,” Owens said.
“I know who I am and what I have done to cover the most important stories of our time under difficult conditions,” he continued, adding that he was “proud to have hired the next generation of correspondents.”
On April 27, 60 Minutes closed out its show with a segment about Owens. During the segment, correspondent Scott Pelley provided some more insight into the executive producer’s departure and implied that President Trump and his administration have had an inappropriate influence on the show.
“Stories we pursued for 57 years are often controversial. Lately the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration. Bill made sure they were accurate and fair. He was tough that way,” he said. “But our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger.”
Pelley continued, “The Trump administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways. None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”
How have the 60 Minutes correspondents responded to Bill Owens’ exit?
Jai Lennard/CBS News©2023 CBS Broadcasting
’60 Minutes’ correspondents, including Sharyn Alfonsi, L. Jon Wertheim, Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega and Anderson Cooper.
During “The Last Minute” segment of the April 27 episode, Pelley said that “no one here is happy” about Owens leaving 60 Minutes.
“He was our boss,” Pelley said. “He covered the world, covered combat, the White House. His was a quest to open minds, not close them. If you’ve ever worked hard for a boss because you admired him, then you understand what we’ve enjoyed here.”
“Bill resigned Tuesday. It was hard on him and hard on us,” Pelley continued, referencing his co-correspondents. “But he did it for us, and you.”
Although many are disappointed that Owens resigned, Pelley said that he proved one thing in doing so: “He was the right person to lead 60 Minutes all along.”
Why is President Trump suing 60 Minutes?
CBSNews/60 Minutes ©2020CBS Broadcasting
Donald Trump on ’60 Minutes.’
In October 2024, Trump filed a lawsuit accusing CBS News of deliberately editing one of Harris’ interview answers to boost her chances of winning the presidential election.
CBS initially denied Trump’s legal team’s demand for an unedited transcript but released it publicly in January after a request from the Federal Communications Commission.
Paramount’s legal team argued that the lawsuit is “without basis in law or fact,” noting that editing interviews for clarity, context and airtime is standard practice in journalism.
In February, The New York Times reported that Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, wanted to resolve the lawsuit — despite many at CBS News opposing a settlement.
Although the outlet said that Redstone’s statement did not explicitly mention Paramount’s looming merger with Skydance, it did “underscore the fact that a pending multibillion-dollar lawsuit from the president made it difficult for Paramount to do business.”
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to publicly criticize 60 Minutes, CBS News and Paramount. On April 13, he posted on Truth Social that he was “so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News, and Paramount, over their fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting.”
“They are not a ‘News Show,’ but a dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as ‘News,’ and must be responsible for what they have done, and are doing,” Trump continued. “CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this.”
Who is replacing Bill Owens as executive producer of 60 Minutes?
John Paul Filo/CBS©2019 CBS Broadcasting
Tanya Simon, executive editor of ’60 Minutes.’
Owens’ official replacement has yet to be determined, but 60 Minutes executive editor Tanya Simon will take over the program on an interim basis in the meantime, per Variety.
In his memo, Owens described Simon as an “amazing partner” and said he was “grateful” for her and others.
President and CEO of CBS News and Stations Wendy McMahon also shared in a memo that she and Tom Cibrowski — CBS News’ president and executive editor — are “committed” to “ensuring that the mission and the work remain [their] priority” and have already “begun conversations with correspondents and senior leaders,” per Deadline.
According to Variety, Simon is viewed as a likely candidate to take over the role.
Read the original article on People
