CHR - CBS 60 Minutes Self-Inflicted Wounds

TOP LINE

The reputational damage to CBS News’ 60 Minutes is hard to watch but  it didn’t happen in a vacuum. These are self-inflicted wounds. 

This week, the Executive Producer of 60 Minutes resigned.  Bill Owens blamed C-Suite interference connected to President Trump’s $20 Billion lawsuit against the network.  While Owens may have a point, the explanation is superficial and simplistic.  

On Owens’ watch, there have been well-documented controversies alleging one sided reporting at 60 Minutes as well as his oversight of the ratings challenged CBS Evening News relaunch.

As former 60 Minutes staffers have complained to me, Owens didn’t bring the same journalistic strengths to the job as his predecessors Don Hewitt and Jeff Fager. 

DEEP DIVE

When he resigned, Owens used a common tactic.

He wrote a memo to 60 Minutes staff with the expectation it would be leaked, which it was, to media reporters.  Owens explained his ability “to make independent decisions based on what’s right for the audience” was restricted for reasons other than journalism.  

Readers of this newsletter were likely not surprised by Owens’ departure.

As I reported in February, Owens seemed to make an unforced error when he said he would never apologize for the controversial 60 Minutes edit of the Kamala Harris interview.  As I noted at the time, he would have been smart to keep his thinking to himself rather than draw a line in the sand.

Shortly after Owens’ resignation, his ultimate boss, Shari Redstone who is the non-executive chairwoman of Paramount was asked by The Wrap how she manages business interests and press freedom.

Redstone said ”....freedom of the press involves telling both sides of the story, giving the facts, not giving opinion.  And I think that’s our responsibility as a media company.”  

Redstone’s words resonated with me.  When I worked as a CBS News senior investigative correspondent, the head of CBS, George Cheeks, told me Redstone wanted these principles applied to the network’s coverage of Hunter Biden. 

I didn’t volunteer for the Hunter Biden story. It was assigned to me. When CBS News executives blocked the Hunter Biden reporting for reasons other than journalism, I was disappointed in Cheeks’ leadership because he did not have my back.

In February 2024, my job was eliminated by the network claiming cost cutting measures, but the explanation was undercut by CBS News executives who seized my files,  including sensitive Hunter Biden reporting.   (My reporting files were eventually returned after SAG-AFTRA and Congress got involved.)

I take journalistic principles seriously.  Last year, I was held in contempt of court for refusing to disclose confidential reporting sources. I face crippling fines which I am grateful the court has paused pending our appeal. This consequential First Amendment case is now before the DC Appellate Court. 

Journalistic principles may seem especially important now to Redstone and CBS News with the pending merger of Paramount and Skydance. The deal is under scrutiny by the FCC for its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices, as well as bias at the network.

In February, Owens and CBS News reluctantly released the full, unedited transcript and video from its October 60 Minutes interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris.   However, the release of unedited materials did not end the discussion.  

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While the edit that sparked the controversy was not a technical foul, a fair minded review showed 60 Minutes did Harris big favors in the edit room.  It transformed rambling, word salad responses into a crisp, succinct broadcast segment.   

When successive interview edits for ‘clarity’ are bundled together, they can transform the final segment, and cross a dangerous line into news distortion.  I believe that was the case here. My training is that the final broadcast report should reflect, not distort the candidate’s overall performance. 

A former colleague remarked that Owens could have done himself and the network a favor by including at least one of Harris’ rambling responses with a simple line of narration, “If you find that answer confusing, so did we!” It would have been a signal to the audience that the interview was less than presidential.

It begs another question: In October 2023, did then President Joe Biden also get a favorable edit from 60 Minutes that concealed his cognitive decline?  I don’t know the answer, but the FCC Chairman Brendan Carr can get one by seeking the unedited video and transcript from CBS.

As recent reporting reveals, BIden’s cognitive  impairment posed a national security risk.  American voters are owed more transparency. If there was no foul by 60 Minutes in the Biden interview edit, it could strengthen their case before the FCC.

On 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens' watch, there have been other, well-documented controversies.

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