{"id":19917,"date":"2025-08-16T19:08:41","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T19:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/?p=19917"},"modified":"2025-08-16T19:08:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T19:08:41","slug":"60-minutes-veteran-lesley-stahl-breaks-her-silence-calling-out-cbs-leadership-heres-what-she-said","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/?p=19917","title":{"rendered":"\u201860 Minutes\u2019 veteran Lesley Stahl breaks her silence, calling out CBS leadership \u2014 here\u2019s what she said"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lesley Stahl Warns of Growing Threats to 60 Minutes Independence<\/p>\n<p>Speaking Out on National Radio<\/p>\n<p>Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl is raising alarms over what she sees as rising threats to editorial freedom at one of America\u2019s most iconic news shows.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_0328-300x158.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-19918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_0328-300x158.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_0328-1024x538.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_0328-768x403.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_0328.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\nOn The New Yorker Radio Hour on May 30, Stahl voiced deep frustration with CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global. She criticized their handling of the ongoing legal battle with President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cFrivolous\u201d Lawsuit<\/p>\n<p>Stahl called Trump\u2019s lawsuit \u201cfrivolous.\u201d The case claims 60 Minutes intentionally edited an interview with then\u2013Vice President Kamala Harris to mislead voters during the 2024 presidential race. Trump insists the segment was biased against him.<br \/>\nThe timing is critical. Paramount is pushing a planned merger with Skydance Media \u2014 a deal that may need federal approval from the Trump administration.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lesley Stahl CLASHES with CBS Boss Shari Redstone\u2014$50M Trump Settlement SHOWDOWN!\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xOLog2OOHtI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\nResignations and Unrest Inside the Newsroom<\/p>\n<p>The controversy has already rocked 60 Minutes. In April, longtime executive producer Bill Owens resigned, saying corporate influence blocked his decision-making. Soon after, CBS News president Wendy McMahon also stepped down.<\/p>\n<p>Stahl revealed that staff quietly discussed staging a mass walkout in support of Owens. He personally asked them not to quit on his behalf.<\/p>\n<p>Criticism of Corporate Interference<\/p>\n<p>Stahl\u2019s concerns extend beyond staffing changes. She criticized Paramount chairwoman Shari Redstone\u2019s reported approach to the lawsuit, calling it an example of troubling corporate interference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen a corporation tells a newsroom to alter or drop a story, it cuts into the very foundation of the First Amendment,\u201d she warned. This kind of pressure, she added, \u201cmakes me question whether any corporation should own a news operation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fears for the Future of 60 Minutes<\/p>\n<p>For Stahl, this fight is bigger than a single lawsuit. She mourns what she sees as the public\u2019s fading respect for a strong press in a healthy democracy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven the Founding Fathers knew we needed a fearless fourth estate to hold leaders accountable,\u201d she said. \u201cThat seems to be slipping away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stahl expects CBS may eventually settle with Trump, noting reports of a rejected $15 million offer. Still, she\u2019s bracing for what lies ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m beginning to think about mourning, grieving, for what the future might hold for 60 Minutes,\u201d she admitted. \u201cHopefully we\u2019ll turn the page and keep telling important stories, but that page might look very different.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lesley Stahl Warns of Growing Threats to 60 Minutes Independence Speaking Out on National Radio Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl is raising alarms over what she&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19919,"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19917\/revisions\/19919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourtimenew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}