60 Minutes in the age of Trump 2.0

[Horizon 275]

A forum topic discussing the longest running news magazine on network television.

 

The New York Times reporting major news that will affect the future of 60 Minutes.

 

Executive Producer Bill Owens will exit the program. He cites the fact that he doesn't feel like he has editorial control and freedom to be separated from the overall control of CBS News and its parent company, Paramount. This comes as they've been facing turmoil from the current administration.

 

"Over the past months, it has 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."

Edited April 23 by 24994J

[MorningNews 1544]

Horrible state of affairs. Just 4 months in. 

[TVNewsLover 804]

@24994J Why the name change to the thread? Isn't “60 Minutes” a better catch all for any news related to the program, just like the evening and morning programs having similar threads?

[24994J 5682]

3 minutes ago, TVNewsLover said:

@24994J Why the name change to the thread? Isn't “60 Minutes” a better catch all for any news related to the program, just like the evening and morning programs having similar threads?

 

The mod team has established that we have too many of these catch-all threads, and it's not just a logo or correspondent change that's leading to its creation. This specific storyline with the show isn't likely going away anytime soon. It may evolve and eventually turn into a catch-all, but this feels important enough, at this time, to keep this as a single topic discussion.

[Horizon 275]

And evolving it is...

 

What lead to Bill Owens' resignation seems to have come from, according to Semafor's reporting, Paramount owner Shari Redstone's watch on 60 Mins.

 

She wanted to know upcoming stories they were reporting on with President Trump that sparked a chain of events that resulted in Owens' departure. 

 

However, Redstone's spokesperson denied any involvement she had.

Edited April 23 by Horizon

[Geoffrey 876]

Very concerning. CBS News feels the need to bow down to a president with authoritarian tendencies to have their Paramount/Skydance merger go through.

[HanSolo 204]

It’s textbook. We’ve seen this play out over and over in countries throughout history and around the globe. It never, ever ends well. 

[tyrannical bastard 4084]

As long as 47 is in charge, I don't believe a word he says until it's either struck down or confirmed by a judge.  That's why we have the separation of powers.

[HanSolo 204]

1 hour ago, tyrannical bastard said:

 That's why we have the separation of powers.

Had. 

[MD TV 287]

Tonight's edition of 60 Minutes ended with a note on Owens. Some interesting words from Pelley:

 

 

[Action Newsroom 1317]

Wendy McMahon has resigned as CEO.

https://deadline.com/2025/05/wendy-mcmahon-resigns-cbs-news-1236404308/

[HanSolo 204]

This is textbook fascism in action. Use every lever of power to force the media into submission. Punish dissent. Stifle journalistic freedom. 
 

 

[tyrannical bastard 4084]

Or in 47s case, try and flood the room with chaos that has nothing to do with him because it's all about him.

 

Someone remind me...who is Skydance and why should they buy Paramount?  This and all of the other chaos is driving CBS/Paramount into the ground faster than Jeff Zucker did with NBC and CNN, combined.

[mre29 1590]

7 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Or in 47s case, try and flood the room with chaos that has nothing to do with him because it's all about him.

 

Someone remind me...who is Skydance and why should they buy Paramount?  This and all of the other chaos is driving CBS/Paramount into the ground faster than Jeff Zucker did with NBC and CNN, combined.

 

From Wikipedia's page about Skydance:

 

Quote

Skydance Media, LLC, also known as Skydance Productions, is an American media production and finance company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company specialized in films, animation, television, video games, and sports.

 

What other chaos? It's mostly been Trump, his pet FCC commissioner Carr, and, before them, Shari Redstone that have caused any chaos.

 

[nathannah 2541]

As if this cursed deal and the people around it aren't enough chaos already, Shari Redstone has thyroid cancer, so once again it's another Viacom/CBS/Paramount deal where a Redstone's health is throwing a wrench into the works.

 

I hope she gets well, but I'm sorry about what they're doing to your baby, Bill Paley.

Edited June 6 by nathannah

[Amra 172]

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/cbs-files-new-response-to-dismiss-president-trumps-lawsuit/

 

Quote

By Mark Mwachiro

CBS News is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s lawsuit, which accuses the network of “deceitful” editing during a 60 Minutes interview with former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

In a court filing on Monday in Texas, CBS News continued to defend its flagship program, saying the First Amendment protects it and that the case should be dismissed.

“The chilling effect of Plaintiffs’ meritless assault on the First Amendment compels dismissal now,” CBS News’ legal team wrote. They added, “President Trump and Representative (Ronny) Jackson attempt to evade bedrock First Amendment principles establishing that public officials like themselves cannot hold news organizations like CBS liable for the exercise of editorial judgment.”

Rep. Jackson (R-Texas) was added to the lawsuit by the president as a co-plaintiff in an amended complaint, which saw Trump double his claims to demand $20 billion in damages from CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global.

After the program aired in Nov. 2024, Trump and his campaign team accused CBS News of “deceitful” editing.

“To paper over Kamala’s ‘word salad’ weakness, CBS used its national platform on 60 Minutes to cross the line from the exercise of judgment in reporting to deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news,” the suit stated.

In a strongly worded response, 60 Minutes described Trump’s charge as “false” and outlined how the editing decisions followed standard network practices.

“When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. 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,” the statement noted.

However, the terms of the lawsuit changed after Trump won the election, adding Jackson as a co-plaintiff. The president then stated that the interview violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the federal Lanham Act.

Trump’s legal team argued that the edited version of the interview was used as a promotion for the program, which represents commercial speech, putting CBS in direct competition with Trump’s media businesses for advertising.

The president said that he was harmed because 60 Minutes captured traffic that otherwise would have been directed toward his own media properties.

CBS News’ legal team pushed back, writing, “The law is clear that news organizations may have a ‘profit motive,’ but such motive in no way divests their reporting of First Amendment protections.”

They further added, “Effectively conceding that their claims cannot survive if the Broadcasts are editorial speech subject to full First Amendment protections, Plaintiffs argue that the Broadcasts somehow became ‘commercial speech’ via a simple promotion for the Interview.”

CBS News is also seeking to move the case back to New York, arguing that the broadcast, which originated from New York City, and the interview, which took place in Washington, D.C., “does not belong in federal court in Texas.”

All this is happening as Paramount Global continues to work on settling the case with President Trump.

Shari Redstone—who heads the media conglomerate —is reportedly seeking to settle the suit ahead of Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance Media.

This attempt at settlement has caused fallout at CBS News, as two key executives closely associated with 60 Minutes have left the news network, including Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures, and Bill Owens, the longtime executive producer of 60 Minutes."