CBS News names ’60 Minutes’ veteran Tanya Simon as broadcast’s new top producer

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

CBS News said Thursday it has selected Tanya Simon as the top producer at “60 Minutes,” elevating a respected insider in a closely-watched appointment given the turmoil that enveloped the newsmagazine with the settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit.

Simon, daughter of the late “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, becomes only the fourth executive producer of the influential newsmagazine since it was invented by Don Hewitt in the late 1960s.

Simon has worked there for 25 years and been interim executive producer since her predecessor Bill Owens quit in April, saying he questioned whether he’d be allowed to lead the program as he saw fit.

Owens had opposed settling Trump’s lawsuit over the editing of last fall’s interview with Kamala Harris. CBS News parent company Paramount Global agreed earlier this month to pay Trump $16 million to end their dispute.

“Tanya Simon understands what makes ‘60 Minutes’ tick,” said Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News. “She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer, and someone who knows how to inspire people.”

Many at the famously insular broadcast supported Simon as a replacement for Owens. In May, seven of the show’s correspondents signed a letter to Paramount Global management urging her appointment. “As much as we will miss Bill Owens, we believe — no, we know — that his long-term successor must come from within,” the correspondents wrote.

Crucially, Simon’s appointment came before the Trump administration’s approval of Paramount Global’s proposed merger with Skydance Media, a takeover that is expected to result in changes at CBS News, and could be a viewed as a way to calm nerves.

With its Sunday night time slot and a history that goes back to legendary correspondents Mike Wallace and Morley Safer, “60 Minutes” is often the most-watched broadcast news program.

Most journalists at CBS News considered Trump’s argument that the Harris interview was intentionally edited to make her appear to be a stronger candidate to be baseless. Talk of the settlement, even a potential apology that wound up not being included, drained morale at the network this spring.

Meanwhile, management at Skydance Media told the Federal Communications Commission, which is reviewing the merger plans, that it will carefully watch for any perceived biased at CBS News and hire an ombudsman to review any complaints about fairness.

“In all respects, Skydance will ensure that CBS’s reporting is fair, unbiased and fact-based,” the company’s general counsel, Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, wrote Brendan Carr, FCC chairman.

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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.