Bill Owens, the highest producer at 60 Minutes, introduced Tuesday that he’s quitting the present as a result of he’s not capable of run this system like he has prior to now.
In a memo to workers members, Owens wrote that’s he not capable of make impartial selections primarily based on what is true for the viewers of the investigative information program.
“Having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time and with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” he wrote within the memo, as first reported by The New York Times.
Owens’ resignation comes as CBS mum or dad firm Paramount Global has been working to settle a US$20 billion lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump final fall. Trump took situation with the best way this system edited an interview with then-vice president Kamala Harris, claiming this system was deceptively edited to favour Harris.
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Trump additionally demanded a retraction and even prompt CBS’s broadcast license be revoked.
The community has denied Trump’s claims about its enhancing, saying in an announcement final October, “Former President Donald Trump’s repeated claims against 60 Minutes are false,” and insisting that “the interview was not doctored” and “did not hide any part of” Harris’s reply to the query at situation.
In a separate assertion, reviews NBC News, 60 Minutes stated it turned over an excerpt from the Harris interview to CBS’s Face the Nation program, which selected to make use of an extended clip of the previous Democratic presidential candidate’s reply.
“Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point,” the assertion stated. “The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.”
According to earlier reviews from the New York Times, Paramount has been participating in settlement talks with Trump, however Owens had advised his workers he wouldn’t apologize for the Harris interview as a part of a settlement.
In Owens’ memo to workers, reviews Politico, he promised that 60 Minutes will proceed to cowl the Trump administration “as we will report on future administrations,” and shared some phrases of confidence.
“The show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer,” he wrote.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Owen had been a longtime CBS worker with 37 years of service underneath his belt. He was the third government producer in 60 Minutes‘ 57-year history, and also oversaw CBS Evening News.
Global News has reached out to CBS for comment.
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In Canada, ‘60 Minutes’ airs Sunday nights on Global at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
— With information from The Associated Press
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