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.