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The turmoil at 60 Minutes, briefly explained
The vaunted news program is under attack.
Patrick Reis was the senior politics and ideas editor at Vox. He previously worked at Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, Politico, National Journal, and Seattle’s Real Change News. As a reporter and editor, he has worked on coverage of campaign politics, economic policy, the federal death penalty, climate change, financial regulation, and homelessness.
Welcome to The Logoff: CBS News is accusing its parent company of censoring its coverage in order to appease the Trump administration, a warning sign for freedom of the press and the First Amendment.
What’s the latest? 60 Minutes journalist Scott Pelley on Sunday suggested Paramount, CBS News’ owner, had degraded the program’s editorial independence through increased scrutiny of its content — including on stories about the Trump administration. Pelley connected the supervision to Paramount’s desire to get the Federal Communications Commission to approve the company’s proposed merger with Skydance Media.
So what does Pelley mean? The 60 Minutes journalist is suggesting that Paramount is monitoring CBS News’ journalism to protect its standing with the administration. While he doesn’t say it outright, the implication is that the administration could block Paramount’s merger as a penalty for unflattering coverage.
Is that a valid fear? President Donald Trump earlier this month said the FCC should punish CBS for a 60 Minutes episode he did not like. Additionally, Trump is suing CBS and Paramount over a campaign interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount is considering settling, though many legal experts say Trump’s case was flimsy.
FCC chair Brendan Carr is a Trump ally who frequently accuses major networks of anti-Trump bias. Earlier this month, he vaguely threatened another company’s broadcast license over its coverage of Trump’s deportation policies. Carr’s FCC is engaged in an inquiry into CBS’ campaign coverage.
What’s the big picture? If the FCC factors CBS’ coverage of Trump into its merger decision, that’s the government threatening financial penalties for disfavored political speech — a violation of the First Amendment. It’s also reminiscent of autocratic regimes elsewhere, which have sought to use state power to stifle criticism and muzzle the media.
We don’t know for sure whether that’s happening, but Trump is calling for the network to be punished for its coverage, and it’s telling that Paramount is concerned enough to “scrutinize” CBS’ content.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
I really enjoyed this piece on the challenges of “seed banking,” an effort to protect endangered plants from extinction. It’s a nice reminder that, even in difficult times, brilliant people are working on ways to protect our future. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.
