CNN host Jake Tapper slammed the chair of Paramount International ― which owns CBS’s guardian firm ― saying she is “prone to bend the knee” to President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the exit of “60 Minutes” government producer Invoice Owens.
Tapper laid out the circumstances round Owens’ departure, noting that Paramount’s Shari Redstone “stands to make a fortune” as she appears to merge her firm with Skydance Media, a multibillion-dollar deal that requires the approval of a Trump-favoring chair of the Federal Communications Fee.
He then predicted that Redstone would seemingly settle Trump’s “allegedly frivolous” $20 billion lawsuit with CBS over allegations that “60 Minutes” deceptively edited its interview with Kamala Harris earlier than the 2024 presidential election.
“Hope the cash’s price it, Shari,” Tapper later declared.
Owens, in a memo to employees on Tuesday, pointed to an absence of journalistic independence as a purpose for his exit.
His departure comes after Trump referred to as for “most fines and punishment” for each CBS and Paramount earlier this month after “60 Minutes” reported on Greenland and Russia’s struggle in Ukraine.
The president then referred to as on FCC Chair Brendan Carr, whom Trump named to the place, to go after CBS for what he described as “illegal and unlawful habits.”
In an interview with Bloomberg final month, Carr urged corporations in search of FCC approval to “get busy ending any form of their invidious types of DEI discrimination.”
One “60 Minutes” supply informed CNN that Owens, who was the highest producer with this system since 2019, “devoted his life” to CBS and his exit was his final act of service to the community.
“He sacrificed himself, hoping it would make our company overlords get up and understand they threat destroying what makes ‘60 Minutes’ nice. It appears clear now, in a quest to promote the corporate, Shari Redstone and others will bow to presidential stress,” the supply mentioned.
“‘60 Minutes’ is among the crown jewels of American broadcast journalism, they usually haven’t any downside crushing it of their race to make a deal and make themselves richer,” they added.