Bill Owens Alleges CBS Spy Ring and Firings at 60 Minutes After $16 Million Trump Settlement
Updated
Updated · Deadline · Jun 2
Bill Owens Alleges CBS Spy Ring and Firings at 60 Minutes After $16 Million Trump Settlement
3 articles · Updated · Deadline · Jun 2
Bill Owens said at a New York Press Club event that CBS News set up an internal “spy ring” and purged 60 Minutes staff, hours after Scott Pelley publicly attacked the show’s recent overhaul.
Owens tied the interference to Paramount’s push to win approval for its Skydance sale while 60 Minutes covered Trump and Gaza, saying editorial independence collapsed as the company settled Trump’s lawsuit for $16 million.
Last week’s shake-up removed executive producer Tanya Simon, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and others, while tech columnist Nick Bilton was installed to run the program.
Owens also said CBS leaders blocked a reporting trip to Iran after visas were secured because it would be a “bad look,” casting the dispute as a broader fight over whether CBS News remains an independent newsroom.
As new leaders 'disrupt' a legacy news show, can its journalistic integrity survive the corporate-driven overhaul?
When an opinion leader takes over a news institution, is it an evolution or the erosion of fact-based reporting?
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