‘60 Minutes’ on-air personalities threaten mutiny if not allowed to handpick new boss
June 28, 2025 | Kevin Haggerty
CBS News’ “60 Minutes” could now count “revolt” among its woes as the on-air talent reportedly set certain expectations regarding leadership.
As parent company Paramount continued efforts to complete a merger with Skydance Media and a $20 billion lawsuit with President Donald Trump remained active in court, the correspondents at “60 Minutes” weren’t making a rocky period for CBS News any easier. According to a report from Oliver Darcy, they’d each signed onto a letter calling for interim executive producer Tanya Simon to take on the role permanently.
Writing in his Status newsletter, Darcy detailed, “Last month, all seven ’60 Minutes’ correspondents moved to take some collective action in an effort to safeguard the program that they so deeply care about. Quietly, the group of famed journalists–Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Bill Whitaker, Anderson Cooper, Sharyn Alfonsi, Jon Wertheim, and Cecilia Vega–decided amongst themselves to write a letter to the powers that be at CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global.”
“According to five people familiar with the matter,” he continued, “the missive addressed to Paramount co-chief executive George Cheeks made a simple request: name Tanya Simon executive producer of ’60 Minutes.’”
Simon, daughter of late “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, took over as interim executive producer in April after Bill Owens abruptly resigned when he’d claimed “the company is done with me” as higher ups came down on the programming that had led to Trump’s lawsuit regarding the editing of a pre-election interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Owens’ resignation had been followed by CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon’s departure in May when she expressed, “It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”
As turmoil at the network continued, a staffer told Status of Simon, who’d started as an associate producer in 1999, “The next E.P. has to be Tanya. There will be a revolt if it’s not her.”
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https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/06/28/60-minutes-on-air-personalities-threaten-mutiny-if-not-allowed-to-handpick-new-boss-1554786/
