Recent Bill Owens Commentaries

Featured image for “What’s the Cost of Integrity? Why 60 Minutes Matters Now More Than Ever”
What’s the Cost of Integrity? Why 60 Minutes Matters Now More Than Ever
Week after week, CBS’s 60 Minutes has done what journalism is supposed to do: hold those in power accountable, no matter the cost. The current cost: The Trump administration has responded with threats, lawsuits, and efforts to silence dissent through sheer intimidation. The most recent episode took viewers to Ukraine, where correspondent Scott Pelley interviewed President Zelenskyy at a bombed...
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May 21, 2025
Featured image for “It’s Called Integrity”
It’s Called Integrity
After nearly four decades at CBS News, Bill Owens, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, stepped down on April 22, 2025. His reason was simple and direct: editorial independence, once a given, was no longer assured. Owens’ departure follows mounting legal and political pressure, including a $20 billion lawsuit by former President Donald Trump and uncertainty over CBS’s sale to...
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April 28, 2025
Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
The Clock is Still Ticking. But Now It’s Ticking for CBS
I began watching 60 Minutes when it premiered on September 24, 1968, when Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace introduced a new kind of television journalism:...
God Has Chosen Donald Trump
At a Trump-backed Christian prayer rally on the National Mall in Washington on May 17, officially called Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise...
The White House as Profit Center
There was a time—not very long ago—when public service required sacrifice. In 2006, when President George W. Bush nominated Hank Paulson, then C.E.O. of Goldman...
Is Ethics Dead? – Conclusion
What kind of leadership… what kind of citizenship, will it take to restore and live the values we claim to believe? It begins with service....
Is Ethics Dead? – Part II
What will it take to restore the values we claim to believe in before the damage becomes irreversible? They will not be restored by slogans,...
Is Ethics Dead? – Part I
There’s a scene in the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day when Phil Connors—trapped in the same day over and over again—turns to two guys in...