On Air, ’60 Minutes’ Reporter Says ‘None Of Us Is Happy’ About Changes That Led Top Producer To Quit | EUROtoday

“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley paid tribute Sunday to Bill Owens, the present’s government producer who resigned final week, saying on the air that “none of us is happy” in regards to the further supervision that company leaders are imposing.

Pelley made his feedback on the finish of the night’s CBS News telecast, saying that in quitting, Owens proved he was the appropriate particular person for the job.

“It was hard on him and it was hard on us,” Pelley mentioned. “But he did it for us — and you.”

His on-air assertion was an uncommon peek behind the scenes on the kind of interior turmoil that viewers seldom get the chance to see.

Owens, solely the third prime government within the 57-year historical past of tv’s most influential newscast, resigned final week, saying he not felt he had the independence to run this system as he had prior to now, and felt obligatory.

CBS News’ guardian firm, Paramount Global, is within the midst of a merger with Skydance Media that wants the approval of the Trump administration. Trump has sued “60 Minutes” for $20 billion, saying it unfairly edited a Kamala Harris interview final fall to her benefit. Owens and others at “60 Minutes” imagine they did nothing improper and have opposed a settlement.

As a outcome, Pelley defined to viewers on Sunday, Paramount has begun to oversee “60 Minutes” tales in new methods. Former CBS News President Susan Zirinsky, a longtime information producer, has reportedly been requested to take a look at the present’s tales earlier than they air.

“None of our stories has been blocked,” Pelley mentioned. “But Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires. No one here is happy about it. But in resigning, Bill proved he was the right person to lead ‘60 Minutes’ all along.”

Despite this, “60 Minutes” has finished powerful tales in regards to the Trump administration nearly each week because the inauguration in January, a lot of them reported by Pelley. On Sunday, “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi had the newest, interviewing scientists about cutbacks on the National Institutes for Health.

Trump was significantly angered by the present’s telecast two weeks in the past, saying on social media that CBS News ought to “pay a big price” for going after him.

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social