CBS Corp. Names Bill Owens to Lead '60 Minutes'

   By Patrick Thomas 
 

CBS Corp. (CBS) said Wednesday that Bill Owens will stay on as executive producer of "60 minutes," ending a period of uncertainty for the newsmagazine show.

Mr. Owens took over the "60 Minutes" news program after Jeff Fager was fired for sending a message interpreted as threatening to a CBS reporter who was covering a story about Mr. Fager regarding allegations of misconduct made against him in a New Yorker article, which he denied.

Mr. Owens, a 30-year CBS veteran, had been serving as the leader of the primetime news program in the interim. He joined "60 Minutes" in 2003 and had been executive editor since 2008. He is the show's third executive since it was founded in 1968. Effective immediately, Mr. Owens will report to Susan Zirinsky, the newly appointed president and senior executive producer of CBS News.

"He has led the broadcast to some of its most important and timely journalism these past few months, during one of its most crucial periods," Ms. Zirinsky said in a statement. "We are fortunate to be able to put such a talented veteran in charge of this iconic program."

The network is still searching for a new chief executive after former CBS head Leslie Moonves was forced to resign amid accusations of sexual harassment in September. He was recently denied his severance after a CBS board investigation concluded that he had violated company policies, breached his employment contract and intentionally failed to fully cooperate with the investigation. He is challenging the company's decision and denies the allegations against him.

The investigation also looked into CBS News, which fired former anchor Charlie Rose's last year after allegations of harassment and improper behavior during his career. Mr. Rose said he had behaved "insensitively" at times but also said he didn't believe "that all of these allegations are accurate."

Write to Patrick Thomas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2019 20:10 ET (01:10 GMT)

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