By Dawn Chmielewski and David Shepardson
(Reuters) -Bill Owens, the long-time executive producer of CBS News’ “60 Minutes”, is stepping down due to concerns about editorial independence, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
“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,” Owens wrote in a note to the “60 Minutes” staff. After defending the show “from every angle, over time with everything I could,” he has elected to step aside.
Owens’ departure follows a months’ long legal battle with U.S. President Donald Trump, who sued CBS in October over a “60 Minutes” interview with his Democratic rival for the White House, former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Earlier this month, the case entered mediation.
CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon lauded Owens’ “unwavering integrity, curiosity, and a deep commitment to the truth,” in an email to the staff. She said the news executive, who spent 37 years at CBS News, including 24 as at its premiere news program, would remain with “60 Minutes” in the weeks ahead.
“Working with Bill has been one of the great privileges of my career,” McMahon wrote. “Standing behind what he stood for was an easy decision for me, and I never took for granted that he did the same for me.”
CBS’s long-running prime time news show became a lightning rod for Trump, who repeatedly assailed the network on the campaign trail over the episode and has threatened to revoke CBS’s broadcasting license if elected.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Texas, alleges that the network of misleading viewers by airing two different responses from Harris to a question about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Last week, Trump again attacked “60 Minutes,” saying it aired two inaccurate stories about him and he has pressed the Federal Communications Commission to take action.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)
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