At the same time, these past few months at CBS have been marked by a vast amount of upheaval. The network is currently facing a $20 billion lawsuit from Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris in the lead-up to the election that the president claims was deceptively edited. Parent company Paramount is reportedly in talks to settle the suit via a mediator, in no small part because controlling shareholder Shari Redstone needs Trump’s approval to complete a multibillion-dollar sale of the company to potential buyer Skydance. This state of affairs reportedly led to increased oversight at 60 Minutes, which pushed executive producer Bill Owens to quit in April over what he cited as a loss of journalistic independence.
McMahon strongly aligned herself with Owens at the time, writing in her own statement that “standing behind what he stood for was an easy decision for me.” McMahon echoed some of Owens’ sentiments in today’s memo, writing, “[T]he past few months have been challenging. It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward. It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”
McMahon has come into conflict with Redstone several times since taking over operations in August 2023. McMahon’s controversial overhaul of CBS Evening News reportedly caused a steep decline in viewers and an incident involving an interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates once again put the two at odds.
“To the CBS News and Stations and CMV teams: Thank you for your passion, your professionalism, and your partnership. It has been a privilege to walk this path with you,” McMahon concluded her memo. While she also promised that she had spent “the past few months shoring up our businesses and making sure the right leaders are in place,” this is a major change for the beleaguered network regardless.
