Head of CBS News Is Forced Out Amid Tensions With Trump

The New York Times ^ | May 19, 2025Updated 4:10 p.m. ET | Michael M. Grynbaum, Benjamin Mullin and Lauren Hirsch

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Wendy McMahon, the president of CBS News and Stations, had allied herself with Bill Owens, the “60 Minutes” executive producer who recently resigned.

The president of CBS News, Wendy McMahon, was forced out of her post on Monday, the latest shock wave to hit the news division amid an ongoing showdown involving President Trump, “60 Minutes,” and CBS’s parent company, Paramount.

Ms. McMahon told her staff in a memo that “it’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward.” Executives at Paramount informed Ms. McMahon on Saturday that they wanted her to step down, according to several people with direct knowledge who requested anonymity to share private discussions.

Paramount is in talks to settle a $20 billion lawsuit brought by Mr. Trump that accused “60 Minutes” of deceptively editing an interview with his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. Many legal experts have called the suit baseless, but Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, has said she favors settling the case. She is seeking federal approval for a multibillion-dollar sale of her company to a Hollywood studio, Skydance.

The situation prompted the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, to resign last month. He has told confidants that Paramount executives, cognizant of the settlement talks with Mr. Trump, had pressured him over the program’s coverage of the Trump administration.

A new flashpoint between “60 Minutes” and its corporate bosses flared last week.

For its May 18 season finale, “60 Minutes” had planned to air a segment, reported by Anderson Cooper, about the Trump administration’s order for mass firings at the Internal Revenue Service.

George Cheeks, the chief executive of CBS and a co-chief executive of Paramount, considered an idea to broadcast an unrelated prime-time special on Sunday that would air...

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
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[V_TWIN]

Now get rid of that POS Scott Pelly

[ClearCase_guy]

I think the business is trying to act like a business. I think the Democrat Activists on the payroll want the business to act like the DNC and forget about profitability. But that side is losing.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Did CBS ever have a news department? Maybe when Edward Murrow was alive.

[Get Daddy a Beer]

I still won’t watch.

[Texas Eagle]

Many legal experts have called the suit baseless,

Name one.

[bigbob]

Face-saving. She got s#itcanned because she created the situation CBS finds itself in.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

[A_Former_Democrat]

Bye-bye. So long Farewell

Nor will we miss you in September, bitch

[BobL]

“Many legal experts have called the suit baseless”

I’ll add me a relative clause here:

“Many legal experts, who aren’t looking at the possible receiving end of a $20 Billion verdict, have called the suit baseless”

[Right_Wing_Madman]

[Fledermaus]

Murrow was a liar too

[oldbrowser]

She got CBS in a 20 Billion dollar jam because she thinks she is a player in the national politics.

In the old days we used to say don't let your shotgun mouth overload you BB gun ass.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Good to know. I suspected as much.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Just as a follow up, it occurs to me that William L. Shirer worked for CBS news too. He was the CBS Berlin correspondent during Hitler's heyday. He was a good newsman.

[bray]

Guess she loses her invte to all the best parties.

[j.havenfarm]

Ok . I’ll bite. It’s not baseless; what it is is unable to succeed at trial. What are the damages? The existence of damages that can be reduced to a sum certain is a prerequisite to recover in a civil action. Answer: there are no damages this case will be settled, perhaps for around that $15M ABC paid, for strategic or political reasons , and that’s fine by me as I hate those bastards as much as anyone here. Also, as I constantly wail in this forum, that $20B figure mentioned in the article is a number pulled right out of thin air by the lawyers. It has no legal significance

[mbrfl]

>>”Many legal experts have called the suit baseless..”

And many legal experts believe the suit has merit. Funny how they left that part out.

[MotorCityBuck]

“Nor will we miss you in September, bitch”
+1 LOL!

[rbg81]

ust as a follow up, it occurs to me that William L. Shirer worked for CBS news too. He was the CBS Berlin correspondent during Hitler’s heyday. He was a good newsman.

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Perhaps. But that was 90 years ago. Things have changed...a lot.