Top 60-minute producer Bill Owens announced Tuesday that he is quitting the show because he can't run the program like he has in the past.
In a note to staff members, Owens wrote that he was no longer able to make independent decisions based on what suited the audience of the investigative news program.
“I defend this show and I'm coming aside from every angle, from all the time, and from everything I can to help the show move forward,” he wrote in a note, as the New York Times first reported.
Owens' resignation comes as CBS parent company Paramount Global is working to resolve a US$20 billion lawsuit filed last fall by US President Donald Trump. Trump was troubled with the way the program compiled an interview with then-President Kamala Harris, claiming that the program was apparently edited to support Harris.
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Trump also requested the withdrawal and even proposed revoking CBS's broadcast license.
In a statement last October, the network denied Trump's claims about the editorial, saying “former president Donald Trump's repeated claims about the 60 minutes were false,” saying “the interview was not a doctor” and “he did not hide Harris' answer to Harris's issue.”
A report by NBC News said the 60 minutes took over an excerpt from Harris' interview with CBS's Face The Nation program.
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“Same question. Same answer. But different parts of the answer. When editing interviews, politicians, athletes, film stars, etc., we are clear, accurate and strive to the point,” the statement said. “Some of her answers for 60 minutes are more concise, allowing other subjects' time in a wide range of segments of 21 minutes.”
According to a previous report from The New York Times, Paramount is engaged in settlement talks with Trump, but Owens told staff he would not apologise for Harris' interview as part of the settlement.
According to Politico, in a memo to Owens' staff, he shared words of confidence, promising that the 60 minutes will continue to cover the Trump administration “to report on future administrations.”
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“The show is too important for the country. It needs to continue. I'm not with me as an executive producer,” he writes.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Owen was a longtime CBS employee who had worked for 37 years. He was the third executive producer in a 60-minute 57-year history, and also directed CBS Evening News.
Global News contacted CBS for comments.
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In Canada, “60 Minutes” will air on Sunday nights on Global on ET/PT at 7pm.
– Use files from Associated Press
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