Latest news with #BillOwens
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
CBS News taps Tanya Simon as new boss of '60 Minutes' after Trump lawsuit
July 24 (Reuters) - Paramount Global's (PARA.O), opens new tab CBS News on Thursday appointed Tanya Simon as the executive producer of its prime time news magazine broadcast "60 Minutes", in place of Bill Owens, who had stepped down citing lack of editorial independence. Owens left the post in April after months of legal battle with U.S. President Donald Trump who claimed in a lawsuit that "60 Minutes" deceptively edited an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris that the network broadcast in October. Earlier this month, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle the suit, allocating the money to Trump's future presidential library. Simon, who began her career at CBS News in 1996, has been with "60 Minutes" for 25 years and recently served as interim executive producer after Owens' exit. She is the fourth executive producer in the broadcast's 57-year history and the first woman in the role, CBS News said. "Tanya knows that the success of today's 60 Minutes depends on delivering a weekly mix of the most informative, impactful and entertaining stories and investigative journalism from around the world," said Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News. Paramount is awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission for its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. The FCC did not make a decision by the 180-day informal deadline in mid-May and FCC Chair Brendan Carr has denied Trump's lawsuit was a factor.
CBS News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Tanya Simon named as executive producer of "60 Minutes"
Award-winning journalist Tanya Simon has been named executive producer of "60 Minutes," America's #1 news program. Her new role was announced Thursday by Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News. Simon has been with "60 Minutes" for 25 years, most recently serving as interim executive producer since the departure of the show's previous leader, Bill Owens, in April. She is just the fourth executive producer in the broadcast's 57-year history, and the first woman in the role. "Tanya Simon understands what makes '60 Minutes' tick. She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer, and someone who knows how to inspire people," Cibrowski said in a statement. "Tanya knows that the success of today's '60 Minutes' depends on delivering a weekly mix of the most informative, impactful and entertaining stories and investigative journalism from around the world. This is the true essence and foundation of '60 Minutes.'" "It is a privilege to lead '60 Minutes' and its formidable team of journalists," Simon said. "'60' is in a class of its own, upholding a legacy of extraordinary and thought-provoking journalism for more than half a century. I'm deeply committed to this level of excellence and 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." Simon was named interim executive producer in April, steering the program through the end of its 57th season. She previously served as the executive editor of "60 Minutes" for six seasons, helping to oversee the program's editorial process. Prior to that, she was a senior producer whose responsibilities included overseeing digital content for and supervising production of "60 Minutes Sports," a monthly program that ran on Showtime. Simon has been contributing to "60 Minutes" for most of her career, playing key roles in some of the broadcast's highest-profile investigations, features and profiles. She joined the staff in 2000, working with correspondent Ed Bradley on a wide range of stories, including reports on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Duke University lacrosse rape case, and a rare interview with Bob Dylan. Simon went on to produce for nearly all of the "60 Minutes" correspondents over the next decade, including Steve Kroft, Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Anderson Cooper, and Bob Simon, her father. During that time, she produced news-making interviews with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and hero pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, as well as profiles of rapper Eminem and Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White. She reported extensively on Boston Irish mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, including his capture after 16 years on the run, and on Lance Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing drugs to win bicycle races. Simon began her career at CBS News in 1996 as a researcher for "48 Hours," where she rose to become an associate producer and producer before moving to "60 Minutes." Her work has earned virtually every major broadcast honor, including multiple Emmy Awards, the Peabody and the DuPont-Columbia Award.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CBS News names '60 Minutes' veteran Tanya Simon as broadcast's new top producer
CBS News said Thursday it has selected Tanya Simon as the top producer at '60 Minutes,' elevating a respected insider in a closely-watched appointment given the turmoil that enveloped the newsmagazine with the settlement of President Donald Trump's lawsuit. Simon, daughter of the late '60 Minutes' correspondent Bob Simon, becomes only the fourth executive producer of the influential newsmagazine since it was invented by Don Hewitt in the late 1960s. She's been executive editor of the broadcast, and running it on an interim basis since her predecessor Bill Owens quit in April, saying he questioned whether he'd be allowed to lead the program as he saw fit. Owens had opposed settling Trump's lawsuit over the editing of last fall's interview with Kamala Harris. CBS News parent company Paramount Global agreed earlier this month to pay Trump $16 million to end their dispute. Simon has worked at '60 Minutes' for 25 years, and was strongly supported by many at the famously insular broadcast to take over for Owens. 'Tanya Simon understands what makes '60 Minutes' tick,' said Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News. 'She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer, and someone who knows how to inspire people.' In May, seven '60 Minutes' correspondents signed a letter to Paramount Global management urging that Simon be appointed. 'As much as we will miss Bill Owens, we believe — no, we know — that his long-term successor must come from within,' the correspondents wrote. Crucially, Simon's appointment came before the Trump administration's approval of Paramount Global's proposed merger with Skydance Media, a takeover that is expected to result in changes at CBS News. ___ David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and David Bauder, The Associated Press
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CBS News taps Tanya Simon as new boss of '60 Minutes' after Trump lawsuit
(Reuters) -Paramount Global's CBS News on Thursday appointed Tanya Simon as the executive producer of its prime time news magazine broadcast "60 Minutes", in place of Bill Owens, who had stepped down citing lack of editorial independence. Owens left the post in April after months of legal battle with U.S. President Donald Trump who claimed in a lawsuit that "60 Minutes" deceptively edited an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris that the network broadcast in October. Earlier this month, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle the suit, allocating the money to Trump's future presidential library. Simon, who began her career at CBS News in 1996, has been with "60 Minutes" for 25 years and recently served as interim executive producer after Owens' exit. She is the fourth executive producer in the broadcast's 57-year history and the first woman in the role, CBS News said. "Tanya knows that the success of today's 60 Minutes depends on delivering a weekly mix of the most informative, impactful and entertaining stories and investigative journalism from around the world," said Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News. Paramount is awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission for its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. The FCC did not make a decision by the 180-day informal deadline in mid-May and FCC Chair Brendan Carr has denied Trump's lawsuit was a factor.
CNN
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
CBS picks new ‘60 Minutes' boss amid persistent concerns about Paramount shake-up
CBS News is not hiring an outsider to helm '60 Minutes' as the program's correspondents feared might happen. Instead, the coveted executive producer job is going to Tanya Simon, a 25-year veteran of the newsmagazine, which has faced intense political pressure from President Trump for nearly a year. Simon took charge on an interim basis last spring when the program's longtime leader Bill Owens resigned under pressure last spring. The promotion became official on Thursday morning when CBS News president Tom Cibrowski announced her new title at the network news division's daily editorial meeting. Simon 'understands what makes '60 Minutes' tick,' Cibrowski said, praising her depth of experience with the program, which is America's highest-rated newsmagazine. Inside CBS, serious questions persist about potential corporate interference in news coverage. After Trump filed a legally dubious lawsuit against CBS News over a '60 Minutes' interview of Kamala Harris last fall, journalists felt that the network's parent company Paramount did not fully back them up. Throughout the winter and spring, as '60 Minutes' continued to produce sharply reported segments about Trump's return to office and the impacts of his actions, news executives repeatedly clashed with Paramount bosses over the content of the program. Getting and keeping '60 Minutes' on the air was a week-by-week challenge, people at the network told CNN at the time. When Owens stepped down in April, he said it had 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.' Simon, the daughter of the late '60' correspondent Bob Simon and the executive editor of the program for the past six years, stepped up as an interim executive producer. '60 Minutes' is currently on its annual summer hiatus, which means CBS is airing encore episodes while teams are hard at work on new reports for the fall and beyond. Earlier this month, Paramount struck a $16 million settlement deal with Trump to resolve his '60 Minutes' lawsuit, and was widely criticized for doing so. Journalists at the newsmagazine have ongoing concerns about what pressures Simon might face as executive producer. Nevertheless, her promotion on Thursday came as a relief to staffers. CBS noted that Simon 'is the fourth executive producer in the broadcast's 57-year history, and the first woman in the role.' In a press release, Simon said she is deeply committed to the newsmagazine's historic 'level of excellence,' and '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.' New episodes of '60 Minutes' are slated to begin airing on September 28. By then, CBS might be closer to having a new owner. Paramount is in the process of merging with Skydance Media, but the deal requires Trump administration approval, and the review has been taking an unusually long time. Earlier this week, in an apparent effort to win the administration's blessing, Skydance told the FCC that if allowed to take over Paramount, it will hire an ombudsman at CBS and will take complaints about bias seriously. The company also pledged not to implement any of the 'DEI,' or diversity, equity and inclusion, policies that Trump has condemned. FCC chair Brendan Carr, a Trump loyalist, shared Skydance's commitments with associates on Tuesday — a possible signal that he was pleased. When asked by CNN if he is now any closer to approving the merger, he did not respond.
