(AFP) – The executive producer of “60 Minutes,” the storied US primetime current affairs show, resigned Tuesday, blaming attacks on his independence in recent months as President Donald Trump has waged a legal battle against the program. The jewel in the crown of CBS News, owned by Paramount, the show has covered wars, US politics, and consumer scandals since its first broadcast in 1968 but is now embroiled in a messy row with the president.
“Over the past months, it has also 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,” Bill Owens, a veteran journalist on the show, wrote in an email to his team seen by AFP. “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.”
The show, which pulls around 10 million viewers weekly, is a leading target of Trump’s offensive against the media. At the end of October 2024, the Republican sued the program, accusing it of manipulating an interview with his Democratic rival Kamala Harris on October 7. CBS strongly refuted the allegations, which commentators have described as baseless.
The program has continued to broadcast investigations critical of the Trump administration since his return to the White House. In response, Trump has called for its cancellation, while his billionaire advisor Elon Musk has said he hoped the team behind “60 Minutes” would receive long prison sentences.
The row has intensified against a backdrop of CBS News’s parent company Paramount seeking to merge with Skydance, which must first be approved by FCC chief and Trump admirer Brendan Carr. Trump is seeking $20 billion in damages from the network over the Harris interview, and while the prospect of a mediated settlement is often raised in media circles, Owens has reportedly vowed not to apologize if such a deal is struck.
© 2024 AFP
