‘60 Minutes' producer leaves show, citing a loss of journalistic independence
The top producer at CBS' '60 Minutes' announced Tuesday he would step down from the news magazine because he had lost his journalistic independence.
'Over the past months, it has … become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,' Bill Owens said in a memo to staff members, which was obtained by NBC News. '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 added.
Owens' departure comes during a tumultuous chapter for '60 Minutes.' President Donald Trump has sued CBS for $10 billion over an October interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that the president claims was deceptively edited. The network has denied that claim.
Trump amended the lawsuit earlier this year, upping his damages claim to $20 billion.
'Former President Donald Trump's repeated claims against '60 Minutes' are false,' CBS News said in a statement in October. 'The interview was not doctored' and the show 'did not hide any part of Vice President Kamala Harris's answer to the question at issue.'
In a separate statement, '60 Minutes' said it gave an excerpt from its interview with Harris to the Sunday morning program 'Face the Nation,' which used a longer section of the former Democratic presidential candidate's answer to a question.
'Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point,' the statement said. 'The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.'
Trump has repeatedly lambasted the venerable news magazine over its reporting on him and his administration.
In a post on Truth Social on April 13, for example, Trump wrote: 'Almost every week, 60 Minutes ... mentions the name 'TRUMP' in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend's 'BROADCAST' tops them all.' He appeared to take issue with segments about the war in Ukraine and his interest in acquiring Greenland.
Trump added that he believed CBS should lose its broadcast license and 'pay a big price.' He said he hoped Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr would 'impose the maximum fines and punishment.'
Owens' exit, first reported by The New York Times, also comes at a pivotal moment for CBS' parent company, Paramount. Shari Redstone, Paramount's controlling shareholder, reportedly needs the Trump administration to approve her media conglomerate's sale to Skydance Media, a production and finance company run by David Ellison, the son of tech mogul Larry Ellison.
The New York Times reported in late January that Paramount was in settlement talks with Trump. The Times later reported that Owens told staff members he would not apologize for the Harris interview as part of any prospective settlement. NBC News has not independently verified either report.
In his memo to staff, Owens said '60 Minutes' would 'continue to cover the new administration, as we will report on future administrations. We will report from war zones, investigate injustices and educate our audience. In short, '60 Minutes' will do what it has done for 57 years.'
'Thank you all, remain focused on the moment, our audience deserves it,' Owens said in closing.
Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News, notified company employees by email that Owens would be leaving and touted his work at the company
'Tom and I are committed to 60 Minutes and to ensuring that the mission and the work remain our priority,' McMahon said, referring to referring to CBS News president and executive editor Tom Cibrowski.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Trump speech at Fort Bragg prompts new questions, concerns about politicization of military
WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials say troops who cheered and jeered Tuesday at President Donald Trump's political statements at a rally at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, did not violate military regulations, but a former military legal officer said they did just that. During the speech, uniformed soldiers yelled in support of Trump's political statements and booed former President Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 'Do you think this crowd would have showed up for Biden? I don't think so,' Trump said to boos about Biden. Trump made other comments about Newsom and about Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, where protests against the administration's crackdown on immigrants have been taking place and where Trump has ordered thousands of National Guard members and active-duty Marines deployed in response. Other Trump comments about the 'fake news media,' transgender people, protesters in California and flag-burning also drew boos from the uniformed military members in attendance. Trump is known for his rallies at which he goes after and pokes fun at political enemies and other issues, but typically he makes those remarks at political events, not on U.S. military bases. Such overt political activity on a base is the prerogative of the commander in chief. But military leaders would typically frown upon troops' reacting the way they did as inconsistent with military good order and discipline, and, according to one expert, it is a violation of military regulations found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ. Presidents of both parties often use troops as political props and put them and their commanders in difficult positions by doing so, but Trump's speech took that to a new level, said Geoffrey DeWeese, a retired judge advocate general who is now an attorney with Mark S. Zaid PC. (Zaid has represented whistleblowers on both sides of the aisle, including one who filed a complaint about Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019 that led to Trump's impeachment, and he was one of the people whose security clearances Trump revoked this year.) 'It's a sad tradition to use the military as a backdrop for political purposes,' DeWeese said. 'To actively attack another president or a sitting governor and incite the crowd to boo, that's a step in a dangerous direction, that really says we want to politicize the military, that sends a bad message.' DeWeese said there were likely to have been violations of the UCMJ. 'I would be cringing if I was a senior officer and it happened under my watch,' he said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said repeatedly that he wants to take politics out of the military by removing diversity, equity and inclusion programs and banning service by transgender service members. Kori Schake, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who worked at the State Department and the National Security Council under former President George W. Bush and at the Pentagon under former President George H.W. Bush, said in an email that commanders at Fort Bragg should have done a better job preparing troops there. 'It's terrible,' she wrote. 'It's predictably bad behavior by the President to try and score political points in a military setting, and it's a command failure by leaders at Ft Bragg not to prepare soldiers for that bad behavior and counsel them not to participate.' The Pentagon said in a statement that there had been no violation of the UCMJ and suggested the media was against policies that Trump has championed. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell also alleged in a statement that the media 'cheered on the Biden administration' and its policies regarding the Defense Department 'when they forced drag queen performances on military bases, promoted service members on the basis of race and sex in violation of federal law, and fired troops who refused an experimental vaccine.' 'Believe me, no one needs to be encouraged to boo the media,' Parnell said. 'Look no further than this query, which is nothing more than a disgraceful attempt to ruin the lives of young soldiers.' On Wednesday, Army officials at Fort Bragg addressed the sale of some MAGA merchandise at the event, which was planned in cooperation with a nonpartisan organization, American 250. 'The Army remains committed to its core values and apolitical service to the nation,' Col. Mary Ricks, a spokeswoman for the Army's 18th Airborne Corps at Bragg, said in a statement. 'The Army does not endorse political merchandise or the views it represents. The vendor's presence is under review to determine how it was permitted and to prevent similar circumstances in the future.' The Army's own new field manual, published recently, says the apolitical nature of being a U.S. soldier is what contributes to the public trust. The Army 'as an institution must be nonpartisan and appear so, too,' says the new field manual, 'The Army: A Primer to Our Profession of Arms.' 'Being nonpartisan means not favoring any specific political party or group. Nonpartisanship assures the public that our Army will always serve the Constitution and our people loyally and responsively.' U.S. troops can participate in political functions, just not while on duty or in uniform, the book says. 'As a private citizen you are encouraged to participate in our democratic process, but as a soldier you must be mindful of how your actions may affect the reputation and perceived trustworthiness of our Army as an institution,' it says.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Trump claims rare earths deal 'done' with China
When Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from a number of countries earlier this year, China was the hardest hit. China responded with its own higher rates on US imports, triggering further tit-for-tat increases. In May, talks held in Switzerland led to a temporary truce that Trump called a "total reset". It brought Trump's new US tariffs on Chinese products down from 145% to 30%, while Beijing slashed levies on US imports to 10% and promised to lift barriers on critical mineral exports. It gave both sides a 90-day deadline to try to reach a trade deal. But the US and China subsequently claimed breaches on non-tariff pledges. In his social media post, Trump said the US would have tariffs on Chinese goods of 55%, but officials said the figure included tariffs put in place during his first term. Markets showed little response to the deal, which Terry Haines, founder of the Washington-based consultancy Pangaea Policy, described as having both "very limited scope and unfinished status". "Setting the Geneva 'pause' back on track is the smallest of accomplishments, and doesn't suggest that a broad US-China trade deal or geopolitical rapprochement is any closer in the foreseeable future," he wrote.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Terry Moran's reveals new career move after being axed from ABC over criticism of Trump
Terry Moran has revealed he is launching a Substack channel just days after he was axed from his anchor job at ABC over anti-Trump social media comments. The 28-year ABC veteran, who was pictured barefoot, pacing and biting his nails outside his home earlier today, took to X - the same platform which ultimately became his downfall - to unveil the new career move. 'For almost 28 years I was a reporter and anchor for ABC News. As you may have heard, I'm not there anymore,' he said, referencing the high-profile axing. Moran was let go following a 'clear violation' of the network's social media and impartiality policy. Days prior, he shared a controversial post on X describing Trump as a 'world class hater' and top White House staffer Stephen Miller as the 'bile' behind the Trumpist movement. 'Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He's a world class hater,' Moran wrote just after midnight on Sunday. 'You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate. Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred only a means to an end, and that end his own glorification.' Those comments, though swiftly deleted, ultimately went viral and ABC executives felt they had no choice but to act quickly and respond harshly. If they didn't, the network's impartiality would have come into question, particularly given Trump's outspoken criticism of media bias. Now, Moran is forging a new path away from traditional media. 'I'm here, with you, on Substack, this amazing space and I can't wait to get at it,' he said. 'To get at the important work we all have to do in this time of such trouble for our country. 'I'm going to be reporting and interviewing and just sharing with you and hoping to hear from you as well.' Moran said it will take 'a few days, maybe longer' to get his profile up and running. 'I've got to get some stuff sorted out, but I can't wait to see you,' he said. Moran's decision to join Substack comes months after former CNN anchor Jim Acosta forged the same path after leaving his position. Acosta, who had long been an adversary of Trump, is reportedly on track to earn even more money than he was at CNN through Substack subscriptions - and is now free to share his true thoughts on the administration without fear of reprisal from his bosses. Just two days ago, he published an article weighing in on Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard to the Los Angeles pro-immigration riots. He wrote 'Trump has a long and disgraceful history of exacerbating and even fomenting political unrest in America. Moran was barefoot as he stepped out of his home on Wednesday. Hours later, he revealed he is forging a new path away from traditional media. 'I'm here, with you, on Substack, this amazing space and I can't wait to get at it' 'In California, Trump appears to be chomping at the bit for yet another violent clash with protesters. 'Whether his aim is to clear the way for a stronger authoritarian grip on America or to simply distract the public from his recent catfight with Elon Musk, Trump seems ready to rumble.' Among the top comments were praise that he was now able to speak his mind. 'Aren't you glad you are now on independent media so you can speak freely? Maybe Terry Moran will be joining you,' one person wrote. More than 200 others 'liked' the comment, while several agreed that they'd had a similar thought. Moran's fall from ABC's good graces came just months after he landed a coveted interview with the president. Trump said he had handpicked Moran for his interview because he had 'never heard of' him, despite his years of experience. In the interview, the duo clashed over Trump's immigration policies. Trump said: 'They're giving you the big break of a lifetime. I picked you because, frankly, I never heard of you. I picked you, Terry. But you're not being very nice.' One ABC insider said Moran's ousting had impacted his colleagues, but executives had no choice once his deleted post (pictured) gained momentum on MAGA social media channels One ABC insider said Moran's ousting had impacted his colleagues, but executives had no choice once his deleted video gained momentum on MAGA social media channels. 'It's just sad honestly. It's sad for him, a long-time colleague, friend, a good person, family man. It's just unfortunate, but there was no alternative, especially in these times,' the insider said. 'I can get maybe what he was trying to say, but like, dude, put the phone down and go to bed.' Before becoming a senior national correspondent in 2018, he served as ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent. He also co-anchored the network's news show Nightline for eight years and was ABC News' Chief White Correspondent from 1999 to 2005, having originally joined the network in 1997.
