The top producer at '60 Minutes' has quit. He says he can no longer run
the show as he always has
[April 23, 2025]
By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK (AP) — With his show involved in a bitter dispute with
President Donald Trump, the top executive at the storied CBS News show
“60 Minutes” abruptly resigned on Tuesday while saying he's losing the
freedom to run it independently.
Bill Owens, executive producer of television's most popular and
influential newsmagazine since 2019, said in a note to staff that 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 show is too important to the country,” he wrote. “It has to
continue, just not with me as the executive producer.”
Trump sued “60 Minutes” for $20 billion last fall, claiming it
deceptively edited an interview with his Democratic election opponent
Kamala Harris. CBS denied it had done anything to give an advantage to
Harris, and released the full transcript of its interview.
When Trump took office for his second term, his Federal Communications
Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, announced CBS would be investigated
for the same issue.
At the same time, CBS parent Paramount Global, run by Shari Redstone, is
seeking approval for a merger with Skydance Media, founded by Larry
Ellison. They are reportedly in mediation to settle the lawsuit with
Trump, a prospect that has been bitterly opposed by Owens and others at
“60 Minutes.”
With this backdrop, “60 Minutes” has run an extraordinary series of
tough stories about the new administration since it took office. The
president angrily denounced the show on social media after its April 13
episode featured critical stories about Ukraine and Greenland, saying
CBS should “pay a big price” for going after him.
Owens was the third executive producer at the Sunday night newsmagazine,
known for its ticking stopwatch. Only Don Hewitt, the show's founder,
and Jeff Fager preceded him. Owens did not immediately return a call
seeking comment on Tuesday. Owens has worked at CBS News for 37 years,
25 of them at “60 Minutes.”
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Bill Owens takes part in a panel discussion at the Showtime Winter
TCA Tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013,
in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
 “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,” he said in
the memo.
CBS News' top executive, Wendy McMahon, said in a statement that
Owens “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.”
It was not immediately clear if any particular event triggered the
decision, or if Owens was told he had to leave.
“60 Minutes” is famously insular, run as an independent fiefdom
within CBS News, and Owens said that McMahon agrees that he should
be replaced by a current producer there. His top deputy is Tanya
Simon, daughter of the late “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon.
Trump has battled the press on several levels since taking office
again. The FCC is investigating several media companies, the
administration is working to shut down Voice of America and other
government-run outlets, and The Associated Press has sued the
administration for reducing its access to events because it has not
renamed the Gulf of Mexico in line with Trump's executive order.
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