“Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.”
The executive producer of CBS News’ 60 Minutes program, Bill Owens, has said that he is resigning over a loss of independence to "run the show as I have always run it." In the show’s 57-year history, Owens is just the third person to run it.
Owens said in a staff memo obtained by the New York Times on Tuesday that "over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience."
"So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward," Owens wrote.
Owens pledged in the memo that "‘60 Minutes’ will continue to cover the new administration, as we will report on future administrations. The show is too important to the country. It has to continue, just not with me as the executive producer."
His departure comes after President Donald Trump sued CBS for $10 billion in what he has called a deceptively edited interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, and amid pressure from CBS News parent company, Paramount.
Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, has expressed a desire to reach a settlement in the Trump case and is reportedly aiming to get the Trump administration’s approval for the sale of her company to Skydance. Owens has said that he would not apologise as part of any potential settlement.
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