After Bill Owens quit his role as an executive producer for 60 Minutes, famous correspondent Scott Pelley went off on CBS's parent company, Paramount, while paying homage to Owens. Echoing Owens's sentiment, Pelley accused Paramount of interfering with the content of the show.
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The incident took place live on air on Sunday night's episode of 60 Minutes, more specifically, during the show's last minute, as per The Guardian. What started as a tribute to Bill Owens later transformed into a message toward Paramount Global, the owners of CBS.
"A note on Bill Owens," Pelley said." His was a quest to open minds, not close them. If you've ever worked hard for a boss because you admired them, then you understand what we've enjoyed here."
Pelley mentioned that 60 Minutes has covered many controversial stories throughout the decades. In particular, he mentioned the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration. However, Pelley said that former executive producer Bill Owens aimed for the show's reporting to be "accurate and fair."
At that moment, however, Scott Pelley took shots at Paramount Global, mentioning a possible merger between Paramount and Skydance as a reason behind an alleged content supervision on behalf of Paramount.
"But our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger," Pelley continued. "The Trump administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways."
"None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires. No one here is happy about it. But in resigning, Bill proved one thing - he was the right person to lead 60 Minutes all along."
Bill Owens's resignation comes months after President Donald Trump accused the program of "unlawful and illegal behavior" after an apparent deceptive editing of former Vice President Kamala Harris's 60 Minutes interview back in October, as per the New York Post. Moreover, Trump filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the program.
On Tuesday, April 22, Bill Owens quit 60 Minutes, writing a memo obtained by the Post.
"Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it," Owens wrote in the memo. "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."
