Could Lesley Stahl Be Next To Go at CBS News? Reporter Shamed for ‘Ridiculous’ Question to Jewish Hostage May Be in Peril After Ouster of ‘60 Minutes’ Boss

The high-profile resignation of the executive producer of CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, amid negotiations to settle President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit is sparking speculation about whether more staff departures are on the way. Mr. Owens’ said in a memo first published by the New York Times that he had lost the ability to make “independent decisions” regarding the storied news program. His departure has been linked to the looming settlement, as well as to two recent “60 Minutes” segments about the Israel-Gaza war that reportedly angered Shari Redstone, the non-executive chairwoman of CBS Inc.’s parent company, Paramount.Following Mr. Owens’ departure, the New York Post reported there are “whispers” that one of the on-camera “60 Minutes” stars, Lesley Stahl, could retire. Ms. Stahl recently anchored a much-criticized segment about rescued hostages from Gaza, In it, she asked a rescued Jewish hostage, who said he was tortured and starved by his captors, if they’d only starved him because they were out of food. Ms. Stahl told Variety in an interview Tuesday she was “devastated” by Mr. Owens’ departure and that he “represented everything in a boss you could want.”Leslie Stahl is under fire for asking a ‘ridiculous’ question of freed American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel. CBS NewsMs. Stahl, 83, who has been at “60 Minutes” since 1991, would be relatively young to retire from a top perch at the 57-year-old news magazine program, one of the oldest still-surviving shows on television. Of the core cadre who headlined the show over much of the last 40 years, Mike Wallace retired from the show at 88 and Morley Safer died in office at 84. Ed Bradley, who had cancer, retired at 63 and died two years later. Mr. Owens’ resignation comes as CBS’ parent company, Paramount, is preparing for formal talks to settle President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit stemming from “60 Minutes” editing of Vice President Harris’ October 2024 interview to remove a “word salad” from an answer to a question about Israel. The editing of the interview also led the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the network for alleged news distortion. The FCC is also reviewing Skydance’s acquisition of CBS’ parent company, and the Wall Street Journal reports that the FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, is unlikely to approve the transaction before the Trump lawsuit is settled.Mr. Trump has harshly criticized CBS News and “60 Minutes.” In a post on Truth Social earlier this month, he lashed out at “60 Minutes” after it aired two segments critical of his administration. He said the Tiffany Network should lose its broadcast license and that the FCC should “impose the maximum fines and punishment.”Ms. Redstone reportedly believes that the way to ensure the government approves the Paramount-Skydance deal is to settle Mr. Trump’s lawsuit, and according to multiple reports, executives at Skydance share that view. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that executives at Paramount are concerned they might be at risk of facing criminal charges if the settlement is seen as a bribe. One way to try to avoid the appearance of a bribe is for the network to issue an apology.Departing Executive Producer Bill Owens of ’60 Minutes’. Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesMr. Owens has been a staunch opponent of a settlement and had declared internally that an apology was a “red line” he would not cross, the liberal journalist Oliver Darcy reported in his Status newsletter. The CEO of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, also reportedly opposes the idea of a settlement. She has yet to resign amid speculation that a settlement might lead to her departure. The Journal reports that besides Mr. Owens’ opposition to settling, he had become frustrated with Ms. Redstone, and vice versa.In his resignation memo, he stated it had become “clear that I would not be allowed to run [‘60 Minutes’] as I have always run it.” The Journal, citing people “familiar with his thinking,” said he was focused on Ms. Redstone.After Trump urged the FCC to punish CBS, Ms. Redstone and other executives at Paramount asked “60 Minutes” to provide them with a list of “Trump-related pieces it was reporting on for the duration of its season, which ends in May,” Semafor reported. A spokesperson for Ms. Redstone told the outlet that executives were not asking for the information so they could kill stories. Shari Redstone attends a NYC Special Screening Event of We Will Dance Again at Temple Emanu-El on September 18, 2024 at New York City. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Paramount+Ms. Redstone, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, also reportedly expressed her frustration with a segment “60 Minutes” aired in January focused on State Department rank-and-file opposition to the American role in the Israeli-Hamas war. The American Jewish Committee said the report was “shockingly one-sided, lacked factual accuracy, and relied heavily on misguided information.”The AJC further noted that the segment did not mention why the war was started in the first place and that it reported “unverified civilian casualties” in Gaza and “repeated the claim that Israel is blocking aid” even though such claims have been refuted. The head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, asked why there was no mention of the hostages being held by Hamas.The Post reports that Ms. Redstone was “livid” after the segment and pushed Ms. McMahon to fire Mr. Owens. “60 Minutes” also came under fire for its alleged anti-Israel bias after Ms. Stahl interviewed American-Israeli, Keith Siegel, who was taken hostage with his wife, Aviva, during Hamas’ October 7 attack.Kamala Harris sits down with Bill Whitaker for her ’60 Minutes’ interview. CBS NewsMr. Siegel said he was starved and tortured by his captors, an assertion that was met with skepticism from Ms. Stahl who asked, “Do you think they starved you or they just didn’t have food?”“No, I think they starved me, and they would often eat in front of me and not offer me food,” Mr. Siegel responded.Ms. Stahl was widely denounced and shamed for how she conducted herself in the interview. StopAntisemitism wrote that it was a, “Ridiculous moment on @60Minutes: Lesley Stahl asks hostage Keith Siegel if Hamas starved him because they had no food. He shuts her down. Hamas not only starved him, they ate in front of him, mocked him, sexually humiliated him, and forced him to watch female hostages being tortured.”Ms. Redstone was also reportedly angry that CBS News executives reprimanded Tony Dokoupil, a co-host of CBS News’ morning show, when he pointedly questioned the author Ta-Nehisi Coates when he appeared on the program to promote his anti-Israel book. Ms. Redstone took Mr. Dokoupil out to lunch, and the executive who read the reprimand soon departed the network.CBS News did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Could Lesley Stahl Be Next To Go at CBS News? Reporter Shamed for ‘Ridiculous’ Question to Jewish Hostage May Be in Peril After Ouster of ‘60 Minutes’ Boss

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