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 Death of Shame
Over the past several months, I’ve written commentaries revisiting moments in our history when individuals confronted serious challenges and rose to meet them — to...
Because We Need It
From the man who invented The Tonight Show. What Steve Allen understood—long before humor became sharper and more performative—is that laughter can be light and...
Why George Marshall Still Matters
There are moments in history when power reveals its true character. During World War II, no American general was more central to victory than George...
The Most Sacred Thing
We toss the word “sacred” around as if it were a mood, something reserved for private faith. But in public life, “sacred” has a harder...
THIS Cannot Be Ignored
New information has now confirmed what many feared from the start: Alex Pretti was disarmed before he was shot—multiple times—by federal agents in Minneapolis. Whatever...
Year One
Not long ago, I stopped watching the national news. I told myself I was stepping away from the noise and the churn for some peace...