60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley criticizes CBS News parent company
On Sunday, 60 Minutes journalist Scott Pelley publicly criticized CBS News’ parent company. Pelley’s comments come after veteran executive producer Bill Owens abruptly resigned from the program last week, claiming he no longer had the autonomy to manage it on his own.
At the conclusion of Sunday’s show, Pelley informed viewers, “Paramount has begun monitoring our content in new ways.” “None of our stories have been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”
The Trump administration should approve the merger between Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, and Skydance Media.
President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against CBS News, claiming the network improperly manipulated an October interview with his 2024 presidential rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, to favor him. The raw transcript of the interview was eventually made public by the network, which claimed it showed the broadcast was “not doctored or fraudulent.”
Pelley presented Owens’ departure as an effort to protect 60 Minutes from further interference.
He and we both had to deal with it. However, the journalist added, “He did it for you and us.”
“The stories we pursued for 57 years are often controversial — most recently, the Trump administration and the Israel-Gaza war,” he said. Bill made sure they were fair and factual. He was that tough. However, Paramount, our parent firm, is attempting to finalize a merger. It has to be approved by the Trump administration.
“Nobody here is happy about it,” Pelley added. “But by resigning, Bill proved one thing: He was always the right person to lead 60 Minutes.”
According to The New York Times, Owens’ relationship with CBS and Paramount had deteriorated in recent months because of what he saw as interference in editorial judgment.
When Paramount’s main shareholder, Shari Redstone, complained to executives in January about a program on the fighting in Gaza, former CBS News president Susan Zirinsky was given a new position to evaluate the show’s articles before they air, according to the newspaper.
“Over the past months, it has become clear that I will 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,’ what was right for the audience,” former executive producer Bill Owens said in a message to staff.
“This show is too important to the country,” he said. “Even if I am not the executive producer, it must go on.”
“This weekend’s ‘broadcast’ surpasses them all,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this month, criticizing the program for its coverage of Greenland and Ukraine. “Almost every weekday, 60 Minutes… uses the word ‘Trump’ in a disgusting and derogatory manner. They are a dishonest political operator masquerading as “news,” not a “news show,” and they must be held accountable for their past and present actions. Their license should be revoked.”
60 Minutes contributor Lesley Stahl told Variety on April 22, “I have been told that our journalistic processes have been tampered with, and our judgment is being questioned. Businesses who own news outlets should not behave in this manner.
The future of the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media is uncertain, and 60 Minutes is expected to continue reporting on the Trump administration.
