• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Today

CBS’ “60 Minutes” -- the high-profile, longtime gold-standard TV news show -- is in an impossible situation. And yes, its traditional on-set clock may be ticking.

Where do TV news advertisers for the program stand?

Well, with press freedoms seemingly on the line, the show’s longtime executive producer Bill Owens wasn’t waiting to see. Shockingly, he departed over editorial meddling by corporate higher ups.

This comes after a $20 billion lawsuit by President Trump against the show. The suit itself is frivolous, according to analysts, but there could be some deeper connective problems.

The “election interference” lawsuit focuses on an interview with then Presidential candidate Kamala Harris last year,, one where CBS did editing -- something the network and every TV news show has done as part of the journalistic process since the dawn of news reporting time.

A complicating factor is that Paramount Global is on the back foot -- fighting for its media life in a nonstop competitive, disruptive, streaming-centric world where the company is far behind. Netflix isn’t just the leader, it's pulling away, with only Walt Disney as an outside chance of keeping pace.

All this is why Paramount Global inked a $8 billion deal to be sold to Skydance Media.

But “60 Minutes” is in the crosshairs because Trump may continue his grudge with the news media -- in a different way.
The FCC may find a way not to approve the merger because, in this political environment, there are seemingly crazy, out of the box, never before seen White House executive order moves -- 142 of them so far.

The new Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr said possible complaints against “60 Minutes” are “likely to arise.”

In this political world, it seems anything can happen -- and publicly traded companies are doing everything they can to avoid lawsuits. That's why many CEOs have taken one-on-one meetings with Trump.

Think how quickly Disney-ABC settled its Trump weak defamation suit, agreeing to pay him $15 million. In that suit, George Stephanopoulos was allegedly accused of slander by the President by saying Trump was liable for rape in the case of E. Jean Carroll. Technically, the court had deemed it to be "sexual abuse."

Do the corporate heads at CBS stand with the independence of its new organization -- or does it cave to Trump to try to get a quick deal done?

And do regular TV advertisers care?

Here are some of their basics: So far this season the show is averaging around 8.5 million viewers a night during the 2024-2025 TV season, making it the third-most-watched non-sports broadcast on TV. The show is still a big deal.

Of course, it’s not completely all about the numbers. Perhaps there is still some value in truth, facts, and information for those business partners who back the show.

The clock may be ticking: count all those 60 minutes.