On September 24, 1968, a new show premiered on the CBS television network. The two anchors were Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace, in what Reasoner described as "a kind of a magazine for television".
Still from first episode of '60 Minutes'
It premiered on a Tuesday, and after various time slots, 60 Minutes would land in its permanent Sunday evening time slot seven years later.
The show was the product of producer Don Hewitt who, by the premiere of 60 Minutes, had already been with the network for twenty years as a director and a producer. Hewitt described the "magazine for television as having both "high Murrow" and "low Murrow" elements. "High Murrow", meaning serious pieces (referring to Murrow's 'See It Now' program), and "low Murrow", meaning more celebrity/personality pieces (referring to Murrow's 'Person to Person' program). It slowly built its audience and reputation over the years.
That reputation was for direct, no-nonsense, and hard-hitting journalism.
Its reputation would go through some tarnished moments (e.g. retracted report on Benghazi, softball interviews [then-NSA Director Keith Alexander, Jeff Bezos], report on recovering children in Lebanon), but its overall reputation remained pretty much intact. That is, until this year.
It was this year that a merger between media company Skydance Media and Paramount, finalized in August, took place. The founder and CEO of Skydance is David Ellison, who is a staunch Trump supporter. (His father, Larry Ellison, is also a staunch Trump supporter, including the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump.) It turns out, no surprise, that David Ellison did not like anything anti-Trump, and he wanted some conditions met.
But let me stop and wind the clock back a bit.
In late 2024, Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS claiming an October 60 Minutes piece focused on his 2024 rival, Vice-President Kamala Harris, was edited in a way as to mislead the public on her Israel/Hamas war stance. He claimed it was election interference and damaged his campaign. It was a ridiculous lawsuit, one that CBS should have fought (and would have won). However, in a shocking move, CBS settled for $16 million -- Trump sought $20 billion -- with no apology. (I guess the no apology part was supposed to be for integrity.) The settlement sent shockwaves throughout CBS' news division, not to mention across the country and around the world, and many news division executives resigned as a result.
That was the beginning of the end of CBS News. Some saw it as a beginning of the end for the First Amendment.
Now, let's get back to the Paramount/Skydance merger. Apparently, smelling blood in the water, 60 Minutes remained negatively impacted. That negative impact reached its breaking point when longtime producer Bill Owens, who had helmed the news magazine for over six years, stepped down, citing the program's journalistic independence had been compromised due to corporate oversight. (The oversight stemmed from the Trump lawsuit and the then-pending merger.)
At the end of the episode that aired after Owens stepped down, correspondent Scott Pelley took to the air in a stunning rebuke of what had happened.
A quick side note here: David Ellison is no fan of Stephen Colbert, either. (I wonder why.) In order to get Trump to approve the merger, Ellison wanted him silenced... which meant Trump wanted him silenced. So, it was announced this summer that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert -- not just Colbert hosting, but the show itself -- was being canceled, with the last show airing in May of 2026. (The "financial decision" for the cancelation is widely seen as merely an excuse.) Not long after the announcement, Trump approved the merger.
The following month, CBS News President and CEO, Wendy McMahon, stepped down. She wrote a letter regarding her leaving.
Still from first episode of '60 Minutes'
It premiered on a Tuesday, and after various time slots, 60 Minutes would land in its permanent Sunday evening time slot seven years later.
The show was the product of producer Don Hewitt who, by the premiere of 60 Minutes, had already been with the network for twenty years as a director and a producer. Hewitt described the "magazine for television as having both "high Murrow" and "low Murrow" elements. "High Murrow", meaning serious pieces (referring to Murrow's 'See It Now' program), and "low Murrow", meaning more celebrity/personality pieces (referring to Murrow's 'Person to Person' program). It slowly built its audience and reputation over the years.
That reputation was for direct, no-nonsense, and hard-hitting journalism.
Its reputation would go through some tarnished moments (e.g. retracted report on Benghazi, softball interviews [then-NSA Director Keith Alexander, Jeff Bezos], report on recovering children in Lebanon), but its overall reputation remained pretty much intact. That is, until this year.
It was this year that a merger between media company Skydance Media and Paramount, finalized in August, took place. The founder and CEO of Skydance is David Ellison, who is a staunch Trump supporter. (His father, Larry Ellison, is also a staunch Trump supporter, including the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump.) It turns out, no surprise, that David Ellison did not like anything anti-Trump, and he wanted some conditions met.
But let me stop and wind the clock back a bit.
In late 2024, Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS claiming an October 60 Minutes piece focused on his 2024 rival, Vice-President Kamala Harris, was edited in a way as to mislead the public on her Israel/Hamas war stance. He claimed it was election interference and damaged his campaign. It was a ridiculous lawsuit, one that CBS should have fought (and would have won). However, in a shocking move, CBS settled for $16 million -- Trump sought $20 billion -- with no apology. (I guess the no apology part was supposed to be for integrity.) The settlement sent shockwaves throughout CBS' news division, not to mention across the country and around the world, and many news division executives resigned as a result.
That was the beginning of the end of CBS News. Some saw it as a beginning of the end for the First Amendment.
Now, let's get back to the Paramount/Skydance merger. Apparently, smelling blood in the water, 60 Minutes remained negatively impacted. That negative impact reached its breaking point when longtime producer Bill Owens, who had helmed the news magazine for over six years, stepped down, citing the program's journalistic independence had been compromised due to corporate oversight. (The oversight stemmed from the Trump lawsuit and the then-pending merger.)
At the end of the episode that aired after Owens stepped down, correspondent Scott Pelley took to the air in a stunning rebuke of what had happened.
A quick side note here: David Ellison is no fan of Stephen Colbert, either. (I wonder why.) In order to get Trump to approve the merger, Ellison wanted him silenced... which meant Trump wanted him silenced. So, it was announced this summer that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert -- not just Colbert hosting, but the show itself -- was being canceled, with the last show airing in May of 2026. (The "financial decision" for the cancelation is widely seen as merely an excuse.) Not long after the announcement, Trump approved the merger.
The following month, CBS News President and CEO, Wendy McMahon, stepped down. She wrote a letter regarding her leaving.
McMahon was also quoted as saying, "It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward."
Now, back to Scott Pelley's commentary, he mentioned that no stories have been stopped. Well, that was true then, but what a difference eight months makes.
Fast forward to last weekend. A story on the Trump regime deporting Venezuelan migrants to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador was complete and ready to go. It was scheduled to air last Sunday. It was advertised as being part of last Sunday's broadcast.
Then, just hours before air, the show's Editor In Chief, Bari Weiss, pulled the package, saying it wasn't ready to air.
Now, back to Scott Pelley's commentary, he mentioned that no stories have been stopped. Well, that was true then, but what a difference eight months makes.
Fast forward to last weekend. A story on the Trump regime deporting Venezuelan migrants to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador was complete and ready to go. It was scheduled to air last Sunday. It was advertised as being part of last Sunday's broadcast.
Then, just hours before air, the show's Editor In Chief, Bari Weiss, pulled the package, saying it wasn't ready to air.
In a memo to CBS News staffers, she also claimed they have to "win back viewers' trust". Not a great way to accomplish that. As she was placed in that position as more of a political censor, it's hard to see the only trust she seeks is Donald Trump's.
No one believed that the piece would "air in a future broadcast" as the graphic above stated. However, a funny thing happened. The piece did air in Canada as part of its broadcast of the episode, and Canada's Global News network published it in full online. Thank you, Canada!
If settling Trump's lawsuit last year wasn't the final nail in the coffin to prove CBS is state-run television and CBS News is state-run news, then this certainly is. It is also important to note that if Paramount's hostile takeover bid to buy Warner Bros.-Discovery out from under Netflix, then CNN (a WBD property) would become the second major state-run news network.
With the lawsuit settlement and pulling the CECOT story, even though it still got out, CBS has engaged in acts of betrayal.
It has betrayed the very idea that the press is supposed to be the watchdog of the government.
It has betrayed the reputation of 60 Minutes, and it has betrayed its viewers.
It has betrayed the legacies of Morley Safer, Charles Kuralt, and Roger Mudd.
It has betrayed the legacies of Bob Schieffer and Bill Plante.
It has betrayed the legacy of Walter Cronkite.
It has betrayed the legacy of Mike Wallace.
It has even betrayed the legacy of Edward R. Murrow.
It has betrayed the idea of a free press.
And it has betrayed journalism.
For almost seventy-five years, the logo of the CBS television network has been the CBS Eye.
No one believed that the piece would "air in a future broadcast" as the graphic above stated. However, a funny thing happened. The piece did air in Canada as part of its broadcast of the episode, and Canada's Global News network published it in full online. Thank you, Canada!
Source: Global News / Above posted on YouTube by Senator Cory Booker
If settling Trump's lawsuit last year wasn't the final nail in the coffin to prove CBS is state-run television and CBS News is state-run news, then this certainly is. It is also important to note that if Paramount's hostile takeover bid to buy Warner Bros.-Discovery out from under Netflix, then CNN (a WBD property) would become the second major state-run news network.
With the lawsuit settlement and pulling the CECOT story, even though it still got out, CBS has engaged in acts of betrayal.
It has betrayed the very idea that the press is supposed to be the watchdog of the government.
It has betrayed the reputation of 60 Minutes, and it has betrayed its viewers.
It has betrayed the legacies of Morley Safer, Charles Kuralt, and Roger Mudd.
It has betrayed the legacies of Bob Schieffer and Bill Plante.
It has betrayed the legacy of Walter Cronkite.
It has betrayed the legacy of Mike Wallace.
It has even betrayed the legacy of Edward R. Murrow.
It has betrayed the idea of a free press.
And it has betrayed journalism.
For almost seventy-five years, the logo of the CBS television network has been the CBS Eye.
The CBS logo should be a closed eye...
Theirs is an eye closed to true journalism, closed to being a watchdog, and closed to the truth.
Terry
