Paramount criticised following restrictions on political content
Paramount has come under scrutiny following the resignation of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, after the company meddled with the programme’s political content, Middle East Eye reported on April 28th.
Owens, who led the show for over 25 years, left the 60 Minutes programme last week amid concerns of increased corporate interference in coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and the Trump administration.
On April 27th, 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley addressed Owens’ departure during the broadcast, citing new supervisory measures imposed by Paramount.
“Stories we have covered for the last 57 years are often controversial, lately the Israeli-Gaza war and the Trump administration. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways. None of our stories have been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism required,” Pelley said.
“He did it for us and for you,” he added. Pelley also noted that Paramount is seeking to complete a merger that requires approval from the Trump administration.
Tensions between 60 Minutes and Trump have escalated in recent months. Last week, President Trump criticised the program for airing two reports he claimed were inaccurate and called for the Federal Communications Commission to take action. Trump is currently suing the programme for “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference,” a case stemming from a 2024 interview with presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The resignation has triggered a wave of criticism on social media, with some accusing Paramount of yielding to political pressure.
“Congratulations to Bill Owens and Scott Pelley of CBS for standing up for the Constitution and the First Amendment,” Senator Bernie Sanders posted on X. He continued to say: “Trump, and his lawsuits against CBS and other media, must be strongly resisted. Paramount (which owns CBS) must not give in to Trump’s authoritarianism.”
Social media users have also pointed to Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, suggesting she played a role in editorial decisions.
Redstone defended a CBS Mornings interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates, during which a host suggested Coates held “extremist” views in his writing about Palestinians.
The Trump administration has made a sweeping number of controversial directives in recent weeks. The President recently signed executive orders on April 23rd targeting US universities’ diversity and inclusion initiatives, The Guardian reported.
The move targets foreign gifts to US universities. This directs the federal government to “enforce laws on the books” associated with the declaration of big donations, and university accreditations based on “woke ideology” and not on credibility. Trump has said some of his country’s universities are run by “Marxist maniacs and lunatics”.
Middle East Eye, The Guardian
