‘60 Minutes’ Host Scott Pelley Calls Out Employer For Wanting To Cut Down on Propaganda

Last week, "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens quit the company because he said he could no longer run the program the way he wanted. 

On Sunday, correspondent Scott Pelley criticized CBS parent company Paramount for interfering with the show's coverage, in a clear show of support for his former boss.

"Bill resigned Tuesday — it was hard on him and hard on us," Pelley said in his closing remarks on the show. "But he did it for us — and you.

"Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger," he added, noting that it needs approval from the Trump administration. "Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways and [Owens] 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.

Pelley references reports that Paramount Global is looking to settle a lawsuit from President Trump over an interview with Kamala Harris on "60 Minutes" last year.

For background, the network aired different parts of Harris's response to a question about Israel on separate nights, leading Trump to accuse CBS of election interference.

In reality, Paramount had no choice but to intervene. 

Owens had turned a program that was once held among the most journalistically sound into a propagandistic sideshow, mirroring the editorial bent of Slate Magazine and disgruntled former reporters on Bluesky.

We reviewed the direction of "60 Minutes" under Owens' leadership last week. Examples included deceptively editing the interview with Harris ahead of the election, raving about censorship laws in Germany, breaking format to accuse Tulsi Gabbard of sympathizing with Russia, and promoting DEI as a necessity to the future of the nation.

Not great.

The program has also presented a clear pro-Palestinian lean to its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. 

In January, "60 Minutes" host Lesley Stahl conducted an interview with Hamas hostage Keith Siegel during which she asked whether his terrorist captors starved him on purpose or "just didn’t have food?"

Put simply, Owens and Pelley are offended that Paramount told them they could no longer downplay the terrorist group Hamas, shill for censorship in the West, and use "60 Minutes" as a vehicle to push Democrat talking points. 

Our only criticism is that Paramount didn't step in sooner. "60 Minutes" is no longer a credible news program because of Owens. And, honestly, Pelley isn't blameless either.

We'll see if he sticks around or also quits in protest of Paramount ordering the show to cut down on the propaganda.