According to information from a network insider, staffers at CBS News have been “on edge” ever since the sudden departure of “60 Minutes” executive producers Bill Owens. This is the latest in a series of events that have demonstrated the implosion of the mainstream media ever since President Donald Trump won the election in November 2024.
“Everyone is talking about it, even today,” the CBS staffer said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Monday, almost a week after Owens announced he would be leaving the network.
Owens sent a memo to his colleagues hinting that his decision to leave his position was due to corporate overreach, which he claims impacted his ability to keep the newsroom independent and objective, which is hilarious because CBS News is anything but independent. They, like all mainstream media outlets, are propagandists for the Democratic Party.
“Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience,” Owens said in the memo. “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.”
CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, is currently in a legal battle against President Donald Trump, who filed a now-$20 billion lawsuit last year (it was initially $10 billion) alleging election interference over the network’s handling of its “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. There was speculation Paramount was hoping to settle the suit ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media in hopes of preventing potential retribution by the FCC, which has the authority to halt the multibillion-dollar transaction. Both parties agreed to mediation, signaling their courtroom feud would result in a settlement.
Shari Redstone, controlling shareholder of Paramount, kept tabs on all of the upcoming 60 Minutes segments that were going to be about President Donald Trump, in the days that led up to Owens departure.
“Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it,” veteran CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley said in a monologue addressed to 60 Minutes viewers on Sunday. “Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways. None of our stories have been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism required.”
“CBS Evening News” executive producer Guy Campanile has been outspoken about how upset he is about Owens leaving, so much so that he urged his staff to watch Pelley’s on-air comments, according to the network insider. Campanile previously worked under Owens as a “60 Minutes” producer before he began spearheading the evening newscast last fall.
“Nobody knows what the next shoe that will drop,” they said in comments given to Fox News Digital. “And internally, it’s just very chaotic because everyone doesn’t know what will happen next.”
The insider then stated that the anxiety from Trump’s lawsuit against the network, along with the new merger, “has everyone on pins and needles.”
“And I’m ready to get back to work,” the CBS staffer stated with a touch of frustration.
CBS News did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
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