Veteran journalist Scott Pelley took a shot at ex-network bosses on Thursday (March 12) while presenting an award to former 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens.
Pelley appeared at the National Press Foundation’s annual awards ceremony to introduce Owens, who was honored with the 2025 Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award. After 26 years at the helm of 60 Minutes, Owens resigned in April 2025 amid significant network changes.
According to The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr, Pelley referenced the circumstances surrounding Owens’ exit during his introduction, saying, “Our previous owners at CBS faced political pressure and crumbled.”
This seemed to be a reference to CBS’ former owners settling a lawsuit with President Donald Trump after he sued the network and 60 Minutes for what he claimed to be “biased” editing of a Kamala Harris interview. At the time, Harris was Trump’s 2024 presidential election rival.
Despite legal experts claiming Trump had no basis for his lawsuit, CBS eventually settled with the president for $16 million. This came amid parent company Paramount’s merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which required approval from the Trump administration. Many accused Paramount of appeasing Trump to secure the merger.
Pelley previously addressed the merger on air when announcing Owens’ departure back in April. “Bill resigned Tuesday. It was hard on him and hard on us, but he did it for us and you,” the long-time news reporter told viewers. “Stories we’ve pursued for 57 years were often controversial, lately the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration. Bill made sure they were accurate and fair—he was tough that way.”
He continued, “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. None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”
“No one here is happy about it. But in resigning, Bill proved one thing: he was the right person to lead 60 Minutes all along,” Pelley concluded.
At the time, Owens said in a statement, “It has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it.”
The Paramount and Skydance merger was approved in July 2025, with Ellison taking over control. Since then, Ellison has made significant changes, including appointing The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as CBS News’ editor-in-chief.
Weiss has ruffled feathers at CBS News since her arrival, especially among 60 Minutes staffers. Last December, she faced backlash for pulling a report on the El Salvador mega-prison CECOT that was unfavorable to Trump. The report later aired in January 2026.
Most recently, long-time 60 Minutes reporter Anderson Cooper announced he would be leaving the show at the end of its current season.
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