A Key CBS TV Figure Just Quit Amid Paramount Turmoil

Bill Owens, the veteran producer who guided 60 Minutes through some of its most challenging years, announced his departure Tuesday from America’s longest-running investigative news program amid mounting corporate and political pressures.

The New York Times reports that Owens – only the third executive producer in the show’s 57-year history – cited concerns about diminishing editorial independence in a candid resignation memo.

“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,” Owens wrote in his message to staff. “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.”

His exit occurs against a backdrop of significant corporate maneuvering, with Paramount Global, CBS‘s parent company, currently seeking regulatory approval for its multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance Media. The company’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, reportedly wants to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against CBS over what he characterized as “deceptively edited” footage from an October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, according to sources cited by The New York Times.

Media analysts view the lawsuit as legally dubious but politically significant given the administration’s role in approving Paramount’s pending sale, The New York Times notes. Owens had previously refused to issue an apology to settle the dispute, a position that reportedly put him at odds with corporate leadership eager to secure the deal’s approval, sources told the outlet.

In February, Trump publicly attacked the program on social media, calling for regulators to revoke CBS’s broadcast license and demanding the network “pay a big price” for what he termed “fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting,” comments that apparently caught the attention of executives at both Paramount and Skydance, according to three people familiar with internal discussions cited by The New York Times.

The program has also reportedly faced scrutiny from Redstone herself, who expressed concerns about a segment covering the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the publication reports. Shortly after that piece aired, CBS appointed veteran producer Susan Zirinsky to oversee journalistic standards across the news division, a move described in the Times‘ coverage.

Despite these challenges, Owens emphasized the program’s ongoing commitment to accountability journalism, writing that “60 Minutes will continue to cover the new administration, as we will report on future administrations,” adding in his memo: “The show is too important to the country. It has to continue, just not with me as the executive producer.”

Owens’ CBS career spanned decades, beginning as a summer intern in 1988 before his appointment to lead 60 Minutes in 2019, and he had recently overseen a significant revamp of the CBS Evening News program as well.

Wendy McMahon, CBS News and Stations president, praised the departing producer in her own memo obtained by Deadline: “As Executive Producer, Bill has led 60 Minutes with unwavering integrity, curiosity, and a deep commitment to the truth. He has championed the kind of journalism that informs, enlightens, and often changes the national conversation.”

She further assured staff that leadership “are committed to 60 Minutes and to ensuring that the mission and the work remain our priority,” adding that discussions with correspondents and senior leaders have already begun regarding the program’s future direction, according to her note.