(Reuters) -Bill Owens, the long-time producer of CBS News’ “60 Minutes”, is stepping down due to concerns about editorial independence, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
“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 wrote in a note to the “60 Minutes” staff. After defending the show “from every angle, over time with everything I could” he has elected to step aside.
Owens’ departure follows a months’ long legal battle with President Donald Trump, who sued CBS in October over a “60 Minutes” interview with his Democratic rival for the White House, former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Earlier this month, the case entered mediation.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Chizu Nomiyama)
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