The show’s executive producer, Bill Owens, resigned suddenly on April 22, citing an inability to make ‘independent decisions’ about programming amid Paramount’s battle with Trump

• 60 Minutes surprised viewers on Sunday night by ending with a segment about their executive producer, Bill Owens, who resigned last week.
• Correspondent Scott Pelley spoke out on Owens’ departure, implying that CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, had been influencing the show’s coverage in order to appease President Donald Trump.
• Paramount is currently trying to complete a multi-million dollar merger with Skydance, which would require regulatory approval from the Trump-appointed FCC.

Following the surprise resignation of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, the news magazine’s Sunday night broadcast ended with a segment implying that President Donald Trump and his administration have had an inappropriate influence on the show.

Correspondent Scott Pelley, in a segment of “The Last Minute,” insinuated that the show’s parent company, Paramount Global, had started to push back on some of their more hard-hitting segments — especially those about the current administration.

The company is currently in the process of completing a major merger with Skydance, and needs the Trump administration’s regulatory approval.

“Stories we pursued for 57 years are often controversial — lately the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration,” Pelley, 67, told viewers. “Bill made sure they were accurate and fair. He was tough that way, but our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it.”

“Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,” he continued. “None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he had lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”

In his resignation memo obtained by multiple outlets on April 22, Owens claimed that he had lost the ability to “make independent decisions” regarding the show and “what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.”

“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,” he continued. “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.”