What the Hell Is Going On Over on '60 Minutes'?

The situation over on 60 Minutes this week is dire. Bill Owens — a 37-year CBS News veteran who’s overseen the storied newsmagazine for the last six years — was forced out yesterday, to the deep frustration of both the staff and Owens himself. He delivered a tearful farewell (he’ll remain on for a few more weeks), but left no doubt about why he’s leaving. “It’s clear that I’ve become the problem. I am the corporation’s problem,” he told his staff, according to audio obtained by Status.

Owens’ exit is just the latest casualty in this Administration’s ongoing war on the press. But it’s not just about politics; it’s also about the dangerous entanglement of editorial independence with corporate interests. We’ve already seen how it’s gutted The Washington Post, which has been hemorrhaging subscribers and staff since choosing not to endorse a presidential candidate last October, a decision reportedly made to avoid angering the President at the behest of owner Jeff Bezos.

As for 60 Minutes, the current crisis stems from last year’s interview with Kamala Harris, the one the President insists was deceptively edited to make her look good. The raw footage says otherwise. The President, who declined to be interviewed himself, has been nursing that grievance for months.

He’s now filed a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS, claiming the interview was doctored. Under normal circumstances, it’d be a frivolous case that CBS could easily beat. But these are not normal circumstances. ABC News, along with major law firms and several universities, has already set a dangerous precedent by folding to pressure from the Administration. That’s what the President wants here too: a massive payout and a public apology from 60 Minutes.

The bigger issue is the leverage the President holds. CBS’s parent company, Paramount, is being sold to Skydance, a company owned by David Ellison (son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison). Paramount is struggling, and reportedly needs the $8 billion merger to survive. Shari Redstone, the controlling stakeholder of Paramount Global, stands to profit significantly from the deal. She’s reportedly pressuring CBS and 60 Minutes to settle with Trump, hoping to secure his approval, approval that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is clearly withholding until CBS caves.

Owens, for his part, was steadfast in his refusal to apologize to Trump, hence his self-description as the “corporation’s problem.” With him out of the way, Redstone likely believes she can push through the apology and the settlement to finalize the deal. For what it’s worth, Ellison, a major Biden donor, has also been cozying up to Trump, appearing earlier this month at a UFC match alongside the President and his inner circle.

It’s a mess. And the one lesson that should be clear by now — to CEOs, corporations, law firms, and universities alike — is that appeasement doesn’t work. It only emboldens the bully. That’s why institutions like Harvard are starting to push back. Paramount would be wise to do the same, because Trump won’t allow this sale to go through until CBS News looks a whole lot more like Newsmax.