“60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens to depart network

“60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, whose career spans nearly four decades at CBS News, announced on Tuesday that he will depart the network, saying it has “become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it.”

Owens’ departure comes as President Trump is suing the network, alleging that “60 Minutes” intentionally misled the public in editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris about her candidacy for president. The network aired two different portions of Harris’s response to the same question about the conflict in the Middle East — one in an early excerpt on “Face the Nation” and the other on the “60 Minutes” full broadcast.

Mr. Trump initially demanded $10 billion in damages when he filed the lawsuit in October, then upped the demand to $20 billion in February. His lawsuit claimed that millions of Americans “were confused and misled by the two doctored Interview versions.” Constitutional law experts say the lawsuit is “frivolous” and an infringement on First Amendment rights.

CBS News, which filed motions to dismiss the complaint in March, repeatedly refuted Mr. Trump’s claims. In a statement released when Mr. Trump first filed suit, “60 Minutes” explained: “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 New York Times reported earlier this month that CBS News’ parent company, Paramount, and Mr. Trump’s legal team had selected a mediator to try to reach a settlement.

In a note to staffers today, Owens wrote, “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.  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 is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer,” he wrote.

Wendy McMahon, the president and CEO of CBS News & Stations and CBS Media Ventures, said in an email announcing the decision that “Bill 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.” 

In recent months, Mr. Trump has continued to lash out at CBS News and “60 Minutes,” posting on Truth Social in April that he was “honored” to be suing the network and its parent company, Paramount. He also wrote that he hoped Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr would “impose the maximum fines and punishment” against CBS as the FCC investigates a complaint from a conservative group which alleged the Harris interview amounted to news distortion. CBS has denied that claim.

Paramount is also awaiting FCC approval of a merger with Skydance, a deal the companies reached last year that remains pending. 

Owens began his career at CBS News as an intern in 1988. His many roles at the network span the assignment desk, the White House beat, where he served as senior producer, and “CBS Evening News,” where he was senior broadcast producer.

Owens was named executive producer of “60 Minutes” in 2019 after 12 years supervising the broadcast’s content in senior roles. He is just one of three “60 Minutes” executive producers in the show’s 57-year history. In recent months he also assumed the role of senior executive producer of “CBS Evening News,” which took on a reimagined format in January.