CBS News staffers are reportedly growing frustrated over the controversy surrounding the “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, which has become the focal point of a major legal dispute.
According to a Puck News report, tensions have risen following remarks from “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who reassured colleagues in a Monday meeting that the edit was “perfectly fine,” despite the ongoing backlash.
“‘Is the edit fine?’ one CBS News insider asked rhetorically. ‘It’s obviously an unforced error,'” Puck News wrote. “Several sources said the discrepancy was preventable, and argued that Owens and ‘60 Minutes’should have taken greater care to ensure consistency between the two interview clips, especially given the high stakes of the presidential election and the scrutiny at the time on Harris’s performance in interviews.”
Many at the network are reportedly blaming Owens for “leaving them vulnerable to this situation in the first place,” according to Puck News.
During Monday’s meeting, staffers debated issuing a public statement or even resigning—a move that correspondents Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper opposed. Cooper cautioned his colleagues that, given the current fragile state of the media industry, there were few viable alternatives where they could continue producing similar work.
Adding to the tension, concerns are mounting over the possibility of CBS News settling President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit. Parent company Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, is reportedly in favor of a settlement, prompting what Puck News describes as a “quiet rebellion” among staffers.
“Everyone at the network, all the way up to CBS News C.E.O. Wendy McMahon, opposes the settlement and views it as a gross incursion on press freedom,” Puck News wrote in the report.
On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the unedited transcript and footage that CBS News provided as part of its investigation into whether the network violated the FCC’s “news distortion” policy following a complaint.
The raw transcript revealed that CBS News had selectively aired different portions of Vice President Kamala Harris’ response to “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker’s question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to “listen” to the Biden administration. A preview clip aired on Face the Nation included only the first half of her response, while the primetime special featured only the second half.
CBS News also released the transcript and footage, defending its handling of the Harris interview.
“As the full transcript shows, we edited the interview to ensure that as much of the vice president’s answers to 60 Minutes’ many questions were included in our original broadcast while fairly representing those answers. 60 Minutes’ hard-hitting questions of the vice president speak for themselves,” CBS News wrote on its website.
