60 Minutes Confronts NFL Owners on Kowtowing to Trump

60 Minutes criticized its parent company on Sunday evening for trying to please the Trump administration during its broadcast, strongly supporting its ex-executive producer who stepped down the previous week.

In the "Last Minute" segment on Sunday, correspondent Scott Pelley discussed Bill Owens' departure from the newsmagazine by calling out Paramount for tightly controlling its content. According to Pelley, Paramount maintained strict oversight over what was produced. 60 Minutes since it required the Trump administration’s endorsement to complete the business merger.

Owens, who had been with CBS News for many years and has led their acclaimed newsmagazine as executive producer since 2019, announced his departure from the show on April 22. He stated that higher-ups within the company were meddling in his editorial decisions.

After acknowledging Owens' illustrious tenure with CBS News, Pelley stated, 'On Tuesday, Bill submitted his resignation. This decision weighed heavily on both him and all of us; however, he took this step for our sake and yours,' she continued. ‘For 57 years, the stories we've investigated frequently sparked controversy—recently including the conflict between Israel and Gaza along with matters concerning the Trump administration. Bill ensured these reports were precise and unbiased—he held himself to high standards.’

But our parent company, Paramount, is attempting to finalize a merger. This needs approval from the Trump administration. In turn, Paramount started overseeing our content differently," Pelley went on. "So far, none of our stories have been halted, yet Bill believes he no longer enjoys the autonomy essential for unbiased reporting.

No one is pleased with this situation, but by stepping down, Bill demonstrated one key point—that he was indeed the appropriate individual to be leading. 60 Minutes all along,” he concluded.

When Owens announced his resignation the previous week, he stated that it had become evident "I wouldn’t be permitted to manage things the way I’ve always done."

To make autonomous choices grounded in what was correct. 60 Minutes "Perfect for the audience," he went on.

Another one of 60 Minutes ' long-standing correspondent, Lesley Stahl, also shared this information. Variety In an interview last week, she mentioned that she had become "conscious of interference in our news procedures and doubts being raised about our judgment."

“That is not the way that companies that own news organizations should be acting,” Stahl, who has worked on 60 Minutes for 35 seasons, continued.

Representatives at Paramount did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.

60 Minutes is also currently at the center of a widely publicized defamation dispute with President Donald Trump concerning an interview with Kamala Harris that took place in October 2024.

Initially, when asked about this situation, Harris decided to sit down for an interview. Face the Nation Another CBS News show featured an interview with Kamala Harris that aired on Monday, October 7th. Donald Trump claims that parts of this interview were shown the following day. 60 Minutes Her response regarding Israel was altered after it aired on Sunday to present her in a more favorable light.

He later initiated a $10 billion defamation lawsuit, which he then revised to $20 billion in February.

CBS Owens has refuted the allegation.

Paramount has attempted to resolve the case primarily to obtain federal approval for its planned media merger with entertainment company Skydance Media.

Read more at The Daily Beast.