(Headline USA) “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley paid tribute Sunday to Bill Owens, the show’s executive producer who resigned last week, saying on the air that “none of us is happy” about the extra supervision that corporate leaders are imposing.
Pelley made his comments at the end of the evening’s CBS News telecast, saying that in quitting, Owens proved he was the right person for the job.
HOLY SHIT! Did you see the end of @60Minutes tonight?pic.twitter.com/9ylHAVlfaE
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) April 28, 2025
“It was hard on him and it was hard on us,” Pelley said. “But he did it for us — and you.”
His on-air statement was an unusual peek behind the scenes at the sort of inner turmoil that viewers seldom get the opportunity to see.
Owens, only the third top executive in the 57-year history of television’s most influential newscast, resigned last week, saying he no longer felt he had the independence to run the program as he had in the past, and felt necessary.
CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, is in the midst of a merger with Skydance Media that needs the approval of the Trump administration. Trump has sued “60 Minutes” for $20 billion, saying it unfairly edited a Kamala Harris interview last fall to her advantage. Owens and others at “60 Minutes” believe they did nothing wrong and have opposed a settlement.
FAFO 🚨
Trumps lawsuit for $10B dollars on Paramount and CBS over election interference, when they edited this video, has stalled a merger for $8B with Skydance by the FCC
Paramount has hired a consultant to come up with an amount Trump would acceptpic.twitter.com/pf4NJPY7fQ
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) April 26, 2025
An extra look at “60 Minutes” stories before they air
As a result of the Harris interview debacle, Pelley explained to viewers on Sunday, Paramount has begun to supervise “60 Minutes” stories in new ways. Former CBS News President Susan Zirinsky, a longtime news producer, has reportedly been asked to look at the show’s stories before they air.
“None of our stories has been blocked,” Pelley said. “But Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires. No one here is happy about it. But in resigning, Bill proved he was the right person to lead ‘60 Minutes’ all along.”
Despite this, “60 Minutes” has done tough stories about the Trump administration almost every week since the inauguration in January, many of them reported by Pelley. On Sunday, “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi had the latest, interviewing scientists about cutbacks at the National Institutes for Health.
Trump was particularly angered by the show’s telecast two weeks ago, saying on social media that CBS News should “pay a big price” for going after him. Trump has said 60 Minutes doctoring of its Harris interview was election interference.
“CBS should lose its license, and the cheaters at 60 Minutes should all be thrown out, and this disreputable “NEWS” show should be immediately terminated,” the president said in February.
Aside from the dishonest Harris reporting, 60 Minutes also infamously gave a softball interview to Jan. 6 provocateur Ray Epps in 2023.
Epps is the controversial figure seen on camera on Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, urging protestors to enter the Capitol. He initially appeared on the FBI’s wanted list in relation to the Capitol rioting, only to be removed in the summer of 2021 with no explanation.
Many suspect that Epps was a government asset on Jan. 6, but in 2023 60 Minutes called such a notion a “convoluted conspiracy theory.” The April 2023 60 Minutes segment, which portrayed Epps as a victim–even though he was encouraging protestors to storm the Capitol–only served to heighten suspicions about him.
Ray Epps is the only person I’ve seen on video January 5th and January 6th urging and directing people to go into the Capitol. In a text message on January 6th he bragged that he orchestrated it. Why do democrats and the media portray him as the victim? So bizarre. https://t.co/zEY27XGdgi
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 23, 2023
“Ray Epps is the only person I’ve seen on video January 5th and January 6th urging and directing people to go into the Capitol,” Rep. Thomas Massie said after the 60 Minutes interview aired. “In a text message on January 6th he bragged that he orchestrated it. Why do democrats and the media portray him as the victim? So bizarre.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
