Ex-’60 Minutes’ boss Bill Owens blasts CBS News – Business News
Former “60 Minutes” chief Bill Owens blasted CBS News, saying it’s run by people who “don’t even know what we do and don’t actually care,” and heaped reward on correspondent Scott Pelley for difficult his bosses in a headline-grabbing assembly.
The feedback got here Monday night time on the New York Press Club’s annual dinner in Manhattan, the place Owens — who resigned from the community final 12 months amid tanking scores for “CBS Evening News,” which he tried to overtake — accepted an award.
“These remarks were written last night, and then Scott Pelley happened today,” he joked initially of his speech.
Bill Owens resigned as govt producer of “60 Minutes” final 12 months. AP
He went on to decry final week’s layoffs of workers together with “60 Minutes” correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
“They were fired by people who don’t even know what we do and don’t actually care,” stated Owens, who referred to as CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss “an opinion writer best known for being an ideologue” — the most recent in a stream of criticism directed at her from ex-employees.
The broadsides got here simply hours after an explosive confrontation between Pelley and newly put in “60 Minutes” govt producer Nick Bilton during a workers assembly.
Sources advised The Post that Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering ’60 Minutes’” and belittled Bilton’s credentials, prompting the exec to finish the assembly abruptly.
Owens praised Pelley for the episode.
“Scott can smell a fraud from a mile away. He stood up the way I did a year ago and I couldn’t be prouder of him,” he stated.
“And I know all of the people at ’60 Minutes’ couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Owens joined a litany of criticism from ex-staffers in opposition to CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. Getty Images for The Free Press
Owens concluded by defending the tradition of “60 Minutes” and criticizing the new direction of CBS News, the place Weiss took the helm final fall with a mandate to deliver stability to the community.
He described the community and “60 Minutes” as “institutions, not places where partisans and ideologues should be employed.”
“Look, I’m not saying ‘60 Minutes’ is perfect. I’m certainly not. We’ve made mistakes. We’ve always owned up to them,” he added.
“But I can tell you there’s a rigor in how ‘60 Minutes’ approaches every story. That isn’t what this crew is looking to do.”
Owens praised Scott Pelley for confronting Weiss’s handpicked “60 Minutes” boss. CBS by way of Getty Images
Before his exit, Owens reimagined the “Evening News” to be a “mini ’60 Minutes’” hosted by John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.
The duo tanked, with scores constantly hitting beneath 4 million because the show trailed rivals on NBC and ABC.
Since Weiss tapped Tony Dokoupil to anchor the “Evening News,” the newscast has seen some stumbles however regained more than 100,000 viewers — an increase of 3% in comparison with the ultimate 4 months of the prior iteration earlier this season.
Lesley Stahl, Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Tanya Simon. CBS by way of Getty Images
The remarks have been Owens’ first public feedback since Weiss oversaw a sweeping shakeup of “60 Minutes.”
In addition to correspondents Alfonsi and Vega, govt producer Tanya Simon, senior govt producer Draggan Mihailovich, veteran producer Guy Campanile and digital chief Matthew Polvoy have all exited.
The Post has sought remark from CBS News.
