CBS News is spiraling into disarray, with insiders describing the atmosphere as “very chaotic” following the abrupt exit of Bill Owens, one of just three men to have been the executive producer of “60 Minutes.”
The turmoil, reported by Fox News, stems from a broader unraveling at the network, where leadership changes and internal clashes have left staff rattled.
Owens’ departure, after a storied tenure at “60 Minutes,” was a seismic blow, but sources said it’s merely the tip of the iceberg.
An insider told Fox News that CBS News is teetering on the edge, with morale plummeting as employees brace for more upheaval.
“Nobody knows what the next shoe that will drop,” the insider told Fox. “And internally, it’s just very chaotic because everyone doesn’t know what will happen next.”
The chaos traces back to President Donald Trump, who sued CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with failed presidential candidate and then-Vice President Kamala Harris that he claimed was deceptively edited.
The lawsuit, filed late in 2024, sparked a firestorm, with Owens reportedly resigning under pressure from network brass.
Owens didn’t go quietly, telling employees that he was no longer allowed to make “independent decisions,” a damning indictment of CBS’s top-down control.
Reports suggest that Paramount — the parent company of CBS News — has been meddling more with programming as it tries to spin-off a major sale/merger of various networks.
Do you watch CBS News?
Those sales, by the way, would require some sort of approval from the Trump administration, including the Federal Communications Commission.
The anti-establishment lens sees this as poetic justice for a network long accused of pushing leftist narratives, now crumbling under pressure from the new administration it had so frequently vilified.
CBS’s obsession with polished, agenda-driven reporting — whether on Harris or broader political coverage — and Paramount’s meddling has alienated viewers and, apparently, its own talent.
It led to a stunning on-air moment where “60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley publicly lambasted the decision-making that ultimately led to Owens’ departure:
60 Minutes directly calls out its parent company, Paramount, following the resignation of executive producer Bill Owens pic.twitter.com/KL9XSM35se
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 28, 2025
The network’s troubles are real, and they are festering.
As Fox noted, one disgruntled employee had some choice words for Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder.
“Get out of our way, and let us keep working how we have been for decades,” an insider apparently told her.
The broader media landscape isn’t helping. CBS is bleeding trust as audiences turn to unfiltered platforms like X, where raw sentiment often outpaces corporate spin.
The next shoe, as the insider warned, is poised to drop — and it might just bury the network’s credibility for good.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
