The executive producer of the television program ’60 minutes’, Bill Owens, resigned on Tuesday claiming that he lost editorial independence, according to a statement sent to the workers of the CBS News chain.
“In recent months, it has been clear that I would not be allowed to direct the program as I have always done,” Owens wrote underlining “independent decisions” based on what the producer calls as “correct” for the program and the audience.
“After defending this program – and what we represent – from all angles, with everything I could over time, I do aside so that the program can move on,” he concluded.
Owens did not give more concrete reasons, but the different media recall today that President Donald Trump accused CBS and Paramount (study to which the chain belongs) of “illicit and illegal behavior” for an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump claimed that this interview, conducted during the electoral campaign that gave him the victory, had been deeply edited by the chain, and claimed 10,000 million dollars.
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The study is in the process of reaching an agreement with Trump and both parties have chosen a mediator to help resolve the case.
Although Owens does not continue in command, ’60 minutes’ will continue to cover the Trump administration, as well as the future, from “war zones, investigating injustices and educating the audience.”
Owens is the third executive producer in the 57 years of history of the television network CBS News, after the ’60 minutes’ was taken in 2019, which last year was also added the program ‘CBS Evening News’ (afternoon news).
The producer began working on the television channel in 1988 as a fellow (intern) in summer and remained in the chain for 37 years, more than half in the interview program.
In another statement, the executive director of the chain, Wendy McMahon, highlighted Owens’s trajectory in the program and his “unwavering integrity, curiosity and a deep commitment to the truth.”
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“He has defended the journalism that informs, illuminates and, often, transforms the national debate,” added the executive who also expressed his commitment to the program and to ensure that the mission and work in this remain the “priority.”
’60 minutes’ has been the badge of CBS News – although with some independence of this – since he issued his first episode in 1968; In addition, it is the most watched news program in the US, in which your interviews and research usually mark the informative cycle.
With EFE information
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