Brief
Bill Owens and Wendy McMahon Explain 2025 CBS News Departures at Jupiter Festival
At the Jupiter Festival in Miami, the ex‑“60 Minutes” boss and former news division chief said corporate pressure and a Trump‑related settlement drove their resignations.
By Felo News Desk · Published
At the inaugural Jupiter Festival in Miami, former "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens and former CBS News president Wendy McMahon spoke about their 2025 resignations from CBS News, describing the environment as a "fixed match" and citing corporate editorial interference.
Owens, who had spent nearly 37 years at CBS, said he left after the network faced a lawsuit from President Trump over an edited interview with Kamala Harris. He claimed the lawsuit prompted Paramount, then seeking FCC approval for its sale to David Ellison’s Skydance, to offer a $16 million settlement to appease Trump, even though First Amendment experts questioned the suit’s merit.
According to Owens, the network’s legal team and ownership pressured "60 Minutes" to censor stories critical of the new administration. He recounted being told weekly to stop certain investigations, including pieces on Elon Musk’s Dogecoin and Justice Department firings, and described feeling like a "crazy person standing in the room with a grenade".
McMahon resigned less than a month after Owens, stating she could not lead the newsroom from either a journalistic or business perspective after CBS apologized and settled with Trump. She also opposed the creation of an ombudsman that the new Skydance regime later installed.
The pair’s departures preceded the appointment of Bari Weiss as Owens’s successor, a move that has drawn criticism from "60 Minutes" staff. In August, reports suggested Owens might launch a new program, potentially recruiting former "60 Minutes" correspondents.
Key facts
- Bill Owens and Wendy McMahon resigned from CBS News in mid‑2025. (variety.com)
- Owens cited corporate editorial interference linked to a Trump lawsuit over a Kamala Harris interview. (variety.com)
- Paramount sought FCC approval for a sale to Skydance and offered a $16 million settlement to Trump. (variety.com)
- McMahon left because she disagreed with CBS’s settlement and the planned ombudsman. (variety.com)
- Bari Weiss was appointed to succeed Owens after the resignations. (variety.com)
Sources
- [1] variety.com — originally reported as “Bill Owens and Wendy McMahon on Why They Left CBS News: ‘The Match Was Fixed’”
