In '60 Minutes' exit, Trump exploits media vulnerability

By A.J. Bauer / Bloomberg Opinion

When executive producer Bill Owens resigned from “60 Minutes,” he was not forced out by President Trump; at least not directly.

Rather, Owens bristled at increasing editorial oversight by CBS executives and those of its parent company, Paramount Global. His exit is a reminder of longstanding tensions between editorial and corporate interests in American journalism that have heightened in the Internet and Trump eras. Owens acknowledged as much in a meeting with staff, an audio recording of which was obtained by the New York Times.

“I do think this will be a moment for the corporation to take a hard look at itself and its relationship to us,” he said.

Faced with an increasingly lawless president who has leveraged federal power to exact revenge against his perceived enemies in the legal and higher education sectors, the media industry, too, finds itself in the crosshairs.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-in-60-minutes-exit-trump-exploits-media-vulnerability/