Why Did ‘60 Minutes’ Executive Producer Bill Owens Quit the Show? Inside His Shocking Decision
Bill Owens took the reins as producer of ‘60 Minutes’ back in 2019, a position where he was preceded by Jeff Fager and Don Hewitt.
Published April 24 2025, 9:24 a.m. ET
Since Trump officially took office for a second term in January 2025, several media outlets, shows, and platforms have made sweeping changes in response to the administration’s attack on the media, and now 60 Minutes head Bill Owens has made a shocking decision.
Bill took the reins as producer of 60 Minutes back in 2019, a position where he was preceded by Jeff Fager (2004-2018) and Don Hewitt (1968-2004), and saw great success during his tenure before abruptly stepping down in April 2025.
Why did ‘60 Minutes’ executive producer Bill Owens quit?
On April 22, 2025, Bill announced that he was stepping down from his top position on the program, citing the loss of journalistic independence, according to NBC News.
Bill shared the news in a letter to 60 Minutes staff members, which was obtained by the outlet. “Over the past months, it has … become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” he shared. “To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.”
“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,” Owens added.
What did Bill say to ‘60 Minutes’ staff about his exit?
The New York Times, which first reported Bill’s departure, reportedly obtained audio of him addressing his exit with colleagues Lesley Stahl and Scott Pelley, saying, “It’s clear the company is done with me.”
“In a million years, the corporation didn’t know what was coming up — they trusted 60 Minutes to report the stories and program the broadcast the way 60 Minutes saw fit,” Bill said, per the outlet, adding that changes to that arrangement created “a really slippery slope.”
Following Bill’s announcement, show producer Rome Hartman described Bill’s departure as “a gut punch,” per The New York Times. “We all find it profoundly disturbing. If the people that run Paramount and CBS think they can run 60 Minutes better than Bill Owens has run it, they’re wrong.”
Trump’s recent attacks on ‘60 Minutes’ stem from the show’s October 2024 interview with Kamala Harris.
Although he has a long-standing beef with the show, dating back to his first presidency, Trump’s current issues with the legendary news program are due to the interview it conducted with the former vice president, resulting in Trump filing a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS. He alleged that CBS and 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with Harris.
Per The New York Times, Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, is trying to secure approval for a merger with Skydance Media. She has taken steps to settle the case with Trump.
The outlet also noted that Bill’s relationship with Paramount and CBS was strained due to interference in running 60 Minutes.
Shari also complained to CBS executives about certain segments on 60 Minutes, and appointed CBS producer, Susan Zirinsky, to oversee the journalistic standards of the network’s news division.