Why Is Bill Owens Leaving ’60 Minutes’? What to Know About His Departure

[ad_1] <img width="384" height="216" src="https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-1241463862_7b824c-e1745850295636.jpg?resize=384%2C216" class="attachment-hl-384x216-tc size-hl-384x216-tc wp-post-image" alt="Why Is Bill Owens Leaving 60 Minutes? What to Know About His Departure" srcset="https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-1241463862_7b824c-e1745850295636.jpg?resize=384%2C216 384w, https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-1241463862_7b824c-e1745850295636.jpg?resize=768%2C432 768w, https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-1241463862_7b824c-e1745850295636.jpg?resize=1536%2C864 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 670px" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high"/> Picture Credit score: Sportsfile by way of Getty Photos Invoice Owens is stepping down as govt producer of 60 Minutes after 5 years on the helm. His departure marks a serious change for the long-running CBS information journal, a staple of American tv for many years. In a video message, longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley praised Owens’ management and mirrored on his influence throughout a pivotal time for the present.

Whereas Owens has not shared many particulars publicly, CBS confirmed his exit and thanked him for his contributions. Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS Information, additionally notified staff by e-mail, highlighting Owens’ work and reaffirming the corporate’s dedication to this system.

“Tom and I are dedicated to 60 Minutes and to making sure that the mission and the work stay our precedence,” McMahon stated, referring to CBS Information president and govt editor Tom Cibrowski.

Discover out extra about Owens and his choice to depart 60 Minutes under.

Who Is Invoice Owens? Owens is a veteran journalist who served as the manager producer of CBS’s 60 Minutes from February 2019 till his resignation in April 2025. He joined CBS Information in 1988 and has held varied roles, together with senior producer and govt editor. Below his management, 60 Minutes maintained its standing as one in every of America’s most-watched information applications, incomes quite a few accolades for its investigative journalism.

Why Is Invoice Owens Leaving 60 Minutes? Owens resigned from 60 Minutes citing considerations over diminishing journalistic independence. In a memo to employees, he stated he might now not make autonomous editorial choices on account of rising company oversight, notably as CBS’s father or mother firm, Paramount World, pursued a merger requiring approval from the Trump administration. Owens emphasised that he was stepping apart so the present might proceed with out compromising its journalistic requirements.

60 Minutes immediately calls out its father or mother firm, Paramount, following the resignation of govt producer Invoice Owens pic.twitter.com/KL9XSM35se

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 28, 2025

Donald Trump has had a rocky historical past with CBS, notably with 60 Minutes. In 2020, he minimize brief an interview with Lesley Stahl after turning into displeased along with her questions. He additionally declined to be interviewed by this system throughout the 2024 presidential marketing campaign.

On April 13, 2025, Trump accused 60 Minutes of “fraudulent, past recognition, reporting” in a Fact Social submit. He urged authorities regulators to strip CBS of its broadcast license, writing, “CBS is uncontrolled, at ranges by no means seen earlier than, and they need to pay a giant worth for this.”

What Is Invoice Owens’ 60 Minutes Wage? Particular particulars about Owens’ wage haven't been publicly disclosed. Nonetheless, given his position as govt producer of 60 Minutes and the present’s prominence, it’s doubtless that his compensation was substantial.