Commentary
CBS News Anchors Indignant Over Colleague's Resignation
- by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, April 25, 2025
It seems so old-fashioned -- a pair of network news anchors putting on their game faces to issue a commentary accusing their own company of treading on journalistic ethics and traditions.
This is what “CBS Evening News” co-anchors Maurice Dubois and John Dickerson did Tuesday evening when they ended the broadcast by devoting two minutes to giving their two cents about the resignation of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens earlier that day.
This is like something out of the Edward R. Murrow era, whose DNA -- for better or worse -- still flows through the veins of CBS News.
The issue for the co-anchors (who look like they mean business in the screenshot above) was what they allege is corporate interference in the august work of the CBS News division.
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This is why Owens quit, according to a motherlode of coverage of his resignation, although he does not mention or even hint at corporate interference in an internal memo he wrote to his staff and other interested parties at CBS News.
Naturally, this being the news business, the memo was leaked all over the place.
“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,” he wrote.
“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 did not say what he meant by moving “forward,” since whoever replaces him as chief of “60 Minutes” will still have the same challenges to contend with.
But, Owens avowed, “the show is too important to the country. It has to continue.”
Attention, country -- the TV Blog has a question for you: Do you think “60 Minutes” is “too important” to you -- the Country -- that it “has to continue”?
I suspect the answers to this question would represent four basic categories: Yes, no, not sure and who cares.
To give the show its due, it is in its 57th season and is still watched every Sunday night by millions. It remains a Top 10 network show.
But would the country survive if there were no “60 Minutes”? Let me go out on a limb here and say: Yes, it would.
In his resignation memo, Owens did not specify the issue or issues that he felt he had to quit over.
It has been widely assumed and reported that Owens resigned over fallout from the $20 billion lawsuit filed by Trump in December accusing CBS News of election interference.
The suit stems from the way “60 Minutes” edited a few words of Kamala Harris’ from a pre-election interview that aired October 7.
According to the Associated Press, the sound bites in question, one on “Face the Nation” and the other on “60 Minutes,” were part of a response to questions about Israel.
AP says Harris’ unedited answer was long, and each show used different parts of it. From this, Trump thought CBS News was manipulating Harris’ words to somehow give her a leg up in the pending election in November.
However, Owens’ resignation memo does not address this. The only place he mentions Trump is in one sentence. " '60 Minutes’ will continue to cover the new administration, as we will report on future administrations," he wrote, using the word "we" as if he will still be involved, which he will not be.
So, what is he talking about? The reportage from all news media, including the “CBS Evening News” team, avers that Owens was under constant pressure exerted from the highest levels of CBS parent Paramount Global to take it easier on “60 Minutes’ ” coverage of Trump.
Why? Because, the theory goes, Trump will otherwise use his power over the regulatory apparatus of the United States government to deny Paramount Global’s $8 billion merger with Skydance, which is subject to FCC approval.
At the moment, Paramount Global hopes to settle the Trump lawsuit with the aid of a moderator. As part of that settlement, Owens may have been required to issue an apology for the Harris editing, which Owens refuses to do under any circumstances, which is laudable.
On Tuesday evening, the “Evening News” anchors ended the show with “a story that is personal for us.”
They then praised "60 Minutes." "In its more than half a century on the air, '60 Minutes' has prided itself on independent reporting. But Owens said he was no longer allowed to run the broadcast as it had been run and to make independent decisions," said DuBois.
After giving the background on Trump’s suit, Dickerson then implied that the parent company is complicit in the circumstances that led to the resignation of Owens, who also held the title of supervising producer of "CBS Evening News."
"CBS's parent, Paramount Global, is trying to resolve this suit as it works to complete a merger that needs government approval," Dickerson said.
The total running time minus commercials of "CBS Evening News," as with the other evening newscasts on the other networks, is about 20 minutes.
Although this broadcast-ending story about its own company and colleague was only two minutes, it was likely of little concern to news viewers watching at home.
i assure you, there are PLENTY of us who are more than a little concerned that media boards/executives are bending the knee and/or buying their way into the good graces of a government that appears to be vindictive to those who they feel don't show them favorably. the fact that these to journalists put themselves in the line of fire from the upper floors, even for just 2 minutes, was brave of them to do and should clue everyone in to how dangerous the situation is.
I recently attended the Broadway production of "good night and good luck" and it just reiterated to me what a perilous time we live in. With many companies, law firms and media/news publishers afraid to upset "dear leader" we are really in dangerous times. This all goes back to the "first they came" prose from the 1940's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came
Thanks to these two for risking their careers, so for now, we dont all have to.
If you're not concerned, you're either not paying attention (at your peril) or you don't know history (again, at your peril). This administration's transparently targeted actions to silence critics and the free press is not normal and should NOT be normalized.
60 Minutes is indeed "too important" to be compromised. It's a venerable institution, highly respected for its investigative prowess and ethical coverage. Yes, there are thousands more outlets. But hardly any have the chops or methodology to provide the depth of research and fact checking required. Most outlets today merely regurgitate press releases or are superficial opinion pieces without any factual underpinning or explicit detail. As a former journalist, I know full well how difficult a bar that is to reach. They've done it for decades. Those of us in the media should vigorously defend them. I love MediaPost and all of its vertical publications which provide critical information. I'm a fan! But they aren't culturally important or bastions of a free press in the same way as 60 Minutes. No offense.
The double standards here are delicious:
Generally, the people that are fans of "Good Night, Good Luck" applaud the stand against McCarythism, yet had no issue with the false claims of Republicans/conservatives colluding with Russia.
"60 Minutes" only a few months ago aired a piece advocating the jailing of ordinary citizens for posting "misinformation" on the Internet. Where was the press slamming this? Why are those that advocate for freedom of the press have issues with regular citizens practicing free speech?
And remember, "60 Minutes" and CBS purposely hid Biden's mental decline because their main job is to elect the Democrat party to power.
Adam,
Very informative article about the behind-the-scenes conflicts that led to
the resignation of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, and the two minutes “CBS Evening News” co-anchors Maurice Dubois and John Dickerson gave to the subject to end their newscast this week.
But the last sentence really confused me when you wrote, “Although this broadcast-ending story about its own company and colleague was only two minutes, it was likely of little concern to news viewers watching at home.”
What proof do you have of that? Do you think the two-minutes was too inside baseball, as the saying goes? Or are you resigned to the fact that most news viewers don’t care about the erosion of a free press through coercion by the government? Maybe it was a lament. In any case, I hope you’re wrong. Or we may lose the support of the American people who want an independent, free press.
Don't let anyone get away with saying that 2016 Trump campaign's involvement with Russia is a hoax. Read the Muller report itself, not the adulterated version Bill Barr presented. Better yet read the Republican Senate report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Let there be no doubt that Trump is quite good at revising the history he does not like. We are in deep sh*t right now and letting the lies live on is one of the problems.
You're wrong Michael Trump had no ties to Russia in 2016 it was a hoax lies from the left with misinformation and disinformation and Adam lied to the media had no facts or proof. The Muller report was full of lies and disinformation which you didn't read as those reports are dull and boring which those reports only need to be 5 pages at most not hundreds of pages which is a waste of paper.
And for the recored I voted 3RD party in 2020 & 2024 as I don't vote for the 2 evils ever and I'm proud of that fact and it isn't a vote for Trump, Biden, or Kamala Harris it was one less vote for all of them. And it's time for a strong 3RD parties to light a fire under the 2 party system that is what the problem is as both sides are party over the country which is sad.
Ben B you are gravely mistaken. Please read the Republican Senate report on Russian Interference in the 2016 Election.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Intelligence_Committee_report_on_Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election