Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, April 23, 2025 Real World News
Is the “60 Minutes” clock that has been ticking since Sept. 24, 1968 winding down its last ticks, or just in need of some repairs?
One thing for certain, the clocks of lawyers are definitely fine tuned in the ongoing saga of CBS’s long-running “news” show.
Bill OwensAs President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the network over Kamala Harris’s deceptively-edited interview which aired in October progresses, “60 Minutes” producer Bill Owens has stepped down.
Owens “abruptly quit on Tuesday, citing a loss of journalistic independence as CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, looks to settle a lawsuit from President Trump,” the New York Post reported.
“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 a memo to staff that was obtained by The Post.
He added: “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.”
Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit accuses “60 Minutes” of “unlawful and illegal behavior” for its editing of the interview with Harris as the 2024 presidential campaign was winding down.
Trump has demanded a retraction and suggested CBS’s broadcast license be revoked.
“CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this,” Trump wrote on April 13 in a social media post.
“This is Trump settling scores,” a CBS insider told The Post. “He got his head.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr pledged earlier this month to fast-track an investigation into CBS over alleged political bias. Last month, Carr rejected a bid by CBS to dismiss the complaint against the network.
The Post’s report said it is unclear if Trump, as part of the legal settlement, demanded that Owens step down. Owens had previously refused to issue an apology as part of any potential settlement.
“President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, hoaxes, and lies to account. CBS and Paramount committed the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history,” said his attorney Ed Paltzik.
“That the 60 Minutes boss resigned the same week as CBS settled a major discrimination claim is even further proof of their reckless disregard for truth and the law. President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion.”
CBS Studios settled a lawsuit from a script coordinator for the drama “SEAL Team”, who had accused parent company Paramount of carrying illegal diversity quotas that discriminate against straight white men.
Lawyers for both sides on Friday informed the court of a deal to settle the case. They noted that the “action and all claims and defenses asserted therein, be dismissed with prejudice,” meaning the lawsuit can’t be refiled, according to the filing. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
The settlement aligns with companies across Hollywood rethinking diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Some insiders are saying that Owens stepped down at “60 Minutes” at least in part due to Paramount owner Shari Redstone inquiring about which upcoming stories were about Trump.
Owens’s resignation “was the culmination of months of tensions between ’60 Minutes’ and Paramount, which has taken greater interest in oversight of CBS News,” Semafor reported.
Following Trump’s demand that the FCC inflict “punishment” on CBS over a recent “60 Minutes” piece on Greenland and Ukraine, Paramount executives, including Redstone, reportedly asked the program to provide a list of upcoming Trump-related pieces it was reporting on for the duration of its season, which ends in May.
Semafor cited a spokesperson for Redstone as denying she saw or sought to see “60 Minutes” pieces, and emphasized that Redstone and Paramount were not seeking to kill stories.
A person familiar with the situation told Semafor that Redstone “had both publicly and privately criticized ’60 Minutes’ in recent months, a trend that resulted in Paramount’s decision in January to appoint Susan Zirinsky, the former CBS head, to oversee its standards.”
A source who spoke with Owens in recent days told Semafor the former producer had grown concerned that CBS’s corporate parent was becoming too interested in “60 Minutes” — and that was making him uncomfortable.
“Owens also did not enjoy the additional scrutiny from Zirinsky, who since January had been reviewing sensitive stories as part of a push for stricter standards within CBS that was supported by Paramount,” Semafor noted.
Meanwhile, The Post reports that “inside the halls of CBS, there are whispers that Lesley Stahl, who has reported for ’60 Minutes’ since 1991, also could likely step down and finally retire.”
Stahl, 83, had been at the center of Trump’s ire after she interviewed him in 2020 and claimed that the Hunter Biden laptop story could not be verified. Trump has called for Stahl and the program to apologize, but his requests were ignored.
“People are terrified and the fact that Bill Owens is out means nobody is safe,” an insider told The Post. “I think he jumped before he was fired.”
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Lawyers’ clocks are ticking; 60 Minutes producer out; FCC fast tracks CBS investigation added by Editor Two on April 23, 2025
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