1 day ago
Hours aft Scott Pelley made headlines for speaking retired against firings and different changes astatine 60 Minutes, nan show’s erstwhile executive shaper offered words of praise for nan correspondent.
Bill Owens told a New York Press Club arena that Pelley “can smell fraud a mile away.”
Owens, receiving nan New York Press Club’s Gabe Pressman Truth to Power Award, said that Pelley “stood up nan measurement that I did a twelvemonth agone and I couldn’t beryllium prouder of him, and I cognize each nan group astatine 60 Minutes couldn’t beryllium prouder of him.”
In a tense speech pinch nan show’s caller executive producer, Nick Bilton, Pelley accused CBS News editor successful main Bari Weiss of “murdering” nan show pinch a bid of firings past week.
Owens resigned arsenic executive shaper of 60 Minutes successful April, 2025, saying that he nary longer could beryllium assured of editorial independence. In his property nine speech, Owens talked of an “internal spy ring” group up by firm “within nan news division,” arsenic nan newsmagazine produced stories connected Trump’s first chaotic weeks and connected nan business successful Israel and Gaza.
At nan time, Paramount Global’s Shari Redstone was seeking Trump management support of nan company’s waste to Skydance. Trump had sued CBS complete nan measurement that 60 Minutes edited an question and reply pinch Kamala Harris, and alternatively than situation nan legally dubious lawsuit, nan institution settled for $16 million. A mates of weeks later, nan FCC approved nan transaction.
Owens was succeeded arsenic executive shaper by Tanya Owens, different seasoned of nan show. But she was replaced connected Thursday, moreover arsenic nan show has remained atop nan ratings. Two correspondents, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, besides were fired, arsenic was executive editor Draggan Mihailovich.
“They were fired by group who don’t moreover cognize what we do, who don’t really care,” Owens said. “But they did retired successful a tech columnist arsenic nan adjacent executive shaper of 60 Minutes, who has ne'er worked successful tv news and thinks that 60 Minutes can beryllium better. He said that he had a notebook afloat of ideas. But he wanted to constituent retired to unit that location needed to beryllium a committedness to fairness, successful communicative selection, successful nan edit room, and successful nan broadcast.” Owens past paused and said, pinch a tinge of sarcasm, “Right.”
Owens besides talked of others who person precocious been ousted, including London bureau main Claire Day. He told nan New York crowd that aft she arranged to get visas for a CBS News squad to get into Iran, nan thought was nixed by New York activity because it was a “bad look.”
“It is mind blowing to deliberation CBS News wouldn’t spell to nan spot wherever warfare was being prosecuted by our country, but that’s wherever we are,” Owens said.
“So it’s a pity because CBS News and 60 Minutes are institutions, not places wherever partisans and ideologues should beryllium employed,” Owens said, a reference to Weiss’ inheritance arsenic an sentiment writer.
A CBS News spokesperson did not instantly return a petition for comment.
