The top producer at ’60 Minutes’ has quit. He says he can no longer run the show as he always has

Bill Owens said that he would not be able to make independent decisions based on what is right for the audience. (CBS)

NEW YORK — With his show involved in a bitter dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump, the top executive at the storied CBS News show “60 Minutes” abruptly resigned on Tuesday while saying he’s losing the freedom to run it independently.

Bill Owens, executive producer of television’s most popular and influential newsmagazine since 2019, said in a note to staff that 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.”

“The show is too important to the country,” he wrote. “It has to continue, just not with me as the executive producer.”

Trump sued “60 Minutes” for US$20 billion last fall, claiming it deceptively edited an interview with his Democratic election opponent Kamala Harris. CBS denied it had done anything to give an advantage to Harris, and released the full transcript of its interview.

When Trump took office for his second term, his Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, announced CBS would be investigated for the same issue.

At the same time, CBS parent Paramount Global, run by Shari Redstone, is seeking approval for a merger with Skydance Media, founded by Larry Ellison. They are reportedly in mediation to settle the lawsuit with Trump, a prospect that has been bitterly opposed by Owens and others at “60 Minutes.”

With this backdrop, “60 Minutes” has run an extraordinary series of tough stories about the new administration since it took office. The president angrily denounced the show on social media after its April 13 episode featured critical stories about Ukraine and Greenland, saying CBS should “pay a big price” for going after him.

Owens was the third executive producer at the Sunday night newsmagazine, known for its ticking stopwatch. Only Don Hewitt, the show’s founder, and Jeff Fager preceded him. Owens did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Tuesday. Owens has worked at CBS News for 37 years, 25 of them at “60 Minutes.”

“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,” he said in the memo.

CBS News’ top executive, Wendy McMahon, said in a statement that Owens “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.”

It was not immediately clear if any particular event triggered the decision, or if Owens was told he had to leave.

“60 Minutes” is famously insular, run as an independent fiefdom within CBS News, and Owens said that McMahon agrees that he should be replaced by a current producer there. His top deputy is Tanya Simon, daughter of the late “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon.

Trump has battled the press on several levels since taking office again. The FCC is investigating several media companies, the administration is working to shut down Voice of America and other government-run outlets, and The Associated Press has sued the administration for reducing its access to events because it has not renamed the Gulf of Mexico in line with Trump’s executive order.

Article by David Bauder, The Associated Press