Top producer of ‘60 Minutes’ quits, saying he lost independence

WASHINGTON: CBS News entered a new period of turmoil on Tuesday after the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, said that he would resign from the long-running Sunday news programme because he had lost his journalistic independence.

In an extraordinary declaration, Mr Owens — only the third person to run the programme in its 57-year history — told his staff in a memo that “over the past months, 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.”

“So, 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 wrote in the memo, which was obtained by The New York Times. “60 Minutes” has faced mounting pressure in recent months from both President Trump, who sued CBS for $10 billion and has accused the program of “unlawful and illegal behaviour,” and its own corporate ownership at Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.

Wendy McMahon, the president of CBS News and Stations, wrote in a separate note on Tuesday that she remained “committed to ‘60 Minutes’ and to ensuring that the mission and the work remain our priority.” She also praised Owens. “Standing behind what he stood for was an easy decision for me, and I never took for granted that he did the same for me,” she wrote.