\n<\/p>\n
The former executive producer of 60 Minutes, Bill Owens, said he faced intense internal pressure from his corporate bosses to avoid certain stories that had the potential to generate backlash for parent company Paramount, in his first public remarks since his sudden resignation in late April.<\/p>\n
In January, 60 Minutes ran a segment featuring former state department employees who had quit over how Joe Biden\u2019s administration handled the war in Gaza. The segment drew backlash from pro-Israel organizations and unnerved Paramount\u2019s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, a strong supporter of Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t like the story,\u201d Owens told an audience at Colby College in Maine on Friday evening, where he accepted an award given for courage in journalism.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, Owens says, he was basically told: \u201cWell, you\u2019re not going to do another Gaza story, are you?\u201d While Redstone didn\u2019t call him directly, \u201cthat message was relayed to me by people with authority over me\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
The show continued covering the story. \u201cWhen I said we were going to do another Gaza piece, that was like hitting a hornet\u2019s nest,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cThis idea that we were doing stories that [lacked] balance, on the face of it \u2013 it\u2019s just wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens also said he was encouraged to tamp down coverage of Donald Trump. \u201cThe Trump stuff they were very concerned about,\u201d he said. \u201cI remember at one point I got a phone call from someone that was trying to be an intermediary saying: \u2018Do you need to mention Trump\u2019s name that often?\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens said he was unmoved by the entreaties. When he faced pressure to apologize for the way 60 Minutes edited an interview with then-vice president Kamala Harris after conservative backlash and a $10bn lawsuit from Trump, he made it clear he wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, I\u2019m not apologizing for anything. We haven\u2019t done anything wrong,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWe haven\u2019t done anything wrong. 60 Minutes isn\u2019t perfect. 60 Minutes has made mistakes in the past, and we have always owned those mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Owens said, he decided that he couldn\u2019t stay in his job anymore, and called it quits in April.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing I could do was professionally blow myself up to create a blast radius around 60 Minutes to get people\u2019s attention that this was happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Owens emphasized that he believed these were attempts at corporate censorship, particularly as Paramount sought the approval of Trump\u2019s hand-picked Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, to approve the company\u2019s merger with Skydance Media. He got the impression, he said, that he would be blamed if his actions \u2013 and unwillingness to apologize \u2013 jeopardized the merger and damaged the network.<\/p>\n
Internally, Owens discouraged 60 Minutes staffers from resigning out of protest over his departure, which came months after the selection of Susan Zirinsky to oversee standards at the network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a whole bunch of people who were like: \u2018We\u2019re going with you,\u2019 and I\u2019m like: \u2018Nope, you sit down,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Like CBS News executive Wendy McMahon, who resigned in protest in May, Owens opposed the corporation\u2019s intention to settle the lawsuit. The company did so anyway in July, though it did not apologize to Trump. While Redstone had formally recused herself from the settlement negotiations, she had earlier indicated to Paramount\u2019s board that she supported one.<\/p>\n
During Friday\u2019s event, Owens was interviewed by Amna Nawaz, who co-anchors the PBS NewsHour. She asked him whether he thought he had accomplished his goal of calling attention to his concerns at CBS and stemming the tide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wonder if any part of you wishes that you\u2019d stayed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Owens had worked at CBS News since 1988, becoming executive producer of the Sunday newsmagazine show in 2019. While he said he doesn\u2019t know Bari Weiss, who was recently named editor in chief of CBS News, he noted that she doesn\u2019t have a reporting background \u2013 and encouraged her to protect 60 Minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was an opinion writer. Obviously a very smart woman, but she hasn\u2019t gone and covered news stories like she\u2019s going to be asking everybody else to,\u201d Owens said. \u201cI sure hope that she recognizes that the best group of television journalists are working at the most successful television show in American history \u2026 I just hope that she recognizes that that\u2019s something that should be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he didn\u2019t have any details to share, Owens told the crowd that he planned to re-enter the news business and had had conversations with potential journalism funders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will definitely get back in the game,\u201d he said, hinting also that he might \u201cwrite something\u201d.<\/p>\n
The award given to Owens honors anti-slavery publisher Elijah Lovejoy, who was killed by a mob in 1837. Owens, who said he didn\u2019t think he was worthy of the award, told the crowd that his greatest fears for the country were \u201capathy\u201d and \u201ccowardice\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think more people need to stand up,\u201d he said. \u201cYou either do the right thing and accept the consequences, or you don\u2019t, and then you live with the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Paramount declined comment on Owens\u2019 remarks.<\/p>\n
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