60 Minutes host Scott Pelley has shared his verdict on the new owners of CBS News following concerns that the network’s reporting would be influenced by the corporate merger between Skydance and Paramount.
Speaking at the 2025 Walter Cronkite Awards on Friday (December 12), where he was honored alongside comedian Jon Stewart and MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow, Pelley admitted there were “concerns” about what the merger meant for 60 Minutes and whether it would change the types of stories they reported.
This came amid a tumultuous relationship between 60 Minutes and President Donald Trump, who sued the show and parent company Paramount over what he claimed was biased editing of a Kamala Harris interview in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. The parent company at the time, Paramount Global, ultimately settled the lawsuit for $16 million.
Many critics saw the settlement as a way to appease Trump amid the Paramount-Skydance merger, which required government approval. The merger went through earlier this year, and since then, Paramount-Skydance CEO David Ellison has made several changes, including hiring The Free Press‘ Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
“2025 was a fraught time for 60 Minutes,” Pelley said on Friday, per Mediaite. “Our corporation was attempting to merge with another company, and it required the Trump administration’s approval to do so. A great deal of pressure was placed on 60 Minutes.”
In April, longtime 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens announced his resignation from the program, citing pressure on his journalistic independence. This was followed by the resignation of former CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon in May.
Pelley praised Owens and McMahon on Friday, noting how their departures impacted the network. “These were not managers; these were leaders in our profession,” he stated. “The most outstanding leaders in journalism I have known throughout my career, and it was heartbreaking to all of us to lose them.”
Despite the significant changes behind the scenes, Pelley admitted that, so far, the new owners haven’t attempted to influence or squash any of their 60 Minutes reports.
“I will say in that season — last season — all of our stories got on the air. We got them all on the air,” the longtime news anchor shared. “We got them on the air with an absolute minimum of interference, nothing anyone in this room would be alarmed by. So, our company is the new Paramount, and we were all very concerned at 60 Minutes about what that meant.”
He added, “It’s early yet, but what I can tell you is, we are doing the same kinds of stories with the same kind of rigor, and have experienced no corporate interference of any kind. So that has been a tremendous way to start this season.”
60 Minutes, Sundays, 7/6c, CBS
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