Bill Owens, the executive producer for CBS News’s “60 Minutes” program, announced earlier this week that he would be stepping down from his position as the company moves to encroach on the show’s journalistic independence.

Owens — only the third person to hold the role in the show’s 57-year history — had been the executive producer of “60 Minutes” since 2019. His departure comes as the company has increasingly overseen the program’s editorial decision-making, despite its tradition of being independent of the network. It also comes amid a multi-billion dollar lawsuit by President Donald Trump dubiously alleging that CBS News had wronged him as a candidate by making edits to an interview with then-Democratic candidate for president Kamala Harris.

Owens announced his resignation to staff in a memo that was obtained by The New York Times, portions of which the newspaper printed.

“Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience,” Owens said in the memo, adding:

Having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move........

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