We wrote here about the resignation of Bill Owens, Executive Producer of CBS’s 60 Minutes–only the third such in the decades-long history of that program. Last night, at the end of the 60 Minutes broadcast, Scott Pelley went rogue, criticizing CBS’s parent company, Paramount, and blaming it for Owens’ departure: “‘60 Minutes’ host Scott Pelley calls out Paramount in shocking on-air attack on CBS’ parent company.”
Legendary “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley…
Legendary? Please.
…launched an astonishing on-air attack on his Paramount bosses for interfering with the program’s coverage.
“Bill resigned Tuesday — it was hard on him and hard on us,” Pelley said in his closing remarks on the show he has worked on for more than 20 years.
“But he did it for us — and you,” he told viewers — then unexpectedly suggested that Owens’ exit could end the era of coverage being “accurate and fair.”
60 Minutes’ coverage has never been accurate and fair. The program has always been a platform for the left that has been willing to lie and falsify documents in service of the Democratic Party.
“Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger,” he said, noting that it needs approval from the Trump administration.
“Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,” he said.
Shari Redstone is the controlling shareholder in Paramount. Pelley is accusing her of truckling to the Trump administration in order to get Paramount’s merger approved. I suppose that is possible. I suppose it is equally possible that Redstone is disgusted by 60 Minutes’ conduct, as recently exemplified by its mis-editing garbled answers to questions by Kamala Harris in order to help her presidential campaign.
Pelley said that while “none of our stories have been blocked,” Owens “felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”
Here, “independence” can be translated as a free hand to distort the news in order to serve the Democratic Party. If Paramount is bringing responsibility and journalistic ethics to 60 Minutes, good for them.
