CBS News announced on Thursday that Tanya Simon, a journalist and producer at “60 Minutes” for over two decades, would be the program’s next executive producer, taking over during a period of turmoil at the network.
Ms. Simon succeeds Bill Owens, who announced his resignation in April after clashing with management. He said at the time that the company was infringing on his journalistic independence.
The choice of Ms. Simon puts an end to concerns among the journalists who work on the show, the country’s most-watched television news program, that the network would choose an outsider.
“It is a privilege to lead ‘60 Minutes’ and its formidable team of journalists,” Ms. Simon, who had been the interim executive producer of the show since April, said in a statement. “I’m deeply committed to this level of excellence and I look forward to delivering an exciting season of signature ‘60’ stories.”
The show and its corporate owners have been at the center of intense scrutiny in recent months. Three weeks ago, Paramount, CBS News’s parent company, agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over the editing of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired last October on “60 Minutes.” Mr. Trump claimed that CBS’s actions misled viewers and were aimed at tipping the scales in favor of the Democratic Party.
The lawsuit was filed as Shari Redstone, Paramount’s leader, was in the midst of a multibillion-dollar deal to sell her company to a Hollywood studio, Skydance. The Trump administration needs to sign off on the deal, and some Democratic lawmakers have characterized the settlement as a bribe to get the merger approved.
Both Paramount and the Trump administration have said the lawsuit and the merger are unrelated.
Ms. Simon joined the staff of “60 Minutes” in 2000, and before her interim role had been the show’s executive editor. She will be the fourth executive producer for the program since it began in 1968, and the first woman in the role.
“Tanya Simon understands what makes ’60 Minutes’ tick,” Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News, said in a statement. “She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer, and someone who knows how to inspire people.”
Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, two of the program’s correspondents, posted congratulatory messages on Instagram, writing, “We’re in good hands.”