Longtime ‘60 Minutes’ Producer Michael Gavshon Quits Amid CBS News Turmoil: Report
What To Know
- Longtime 60 Minutes producer Michael Gavshon has resigned from CBS News.
- Gavshon’s departure follows the firing of several prominent staff members and disputes over editorial interference.
- Current and former CBS News journalists have criticized leadership for allegedly undermining journalistic independence.
Michael Gavshon, a longtime 60 Minutes producer, is reportedly ending his time at CBS News.
The New York Post reported on Friday, June 12, that Gavshon, who worked out of CBS News’ London bureau, has resigned from the network.
“Thirty-four of my forty-one years at CBS News have been at 60 Minutes,” Gavshon wrote in a memo to colleagues, which the Post obtained. “The old chestnut, I have stood on the shoulders of giants, couldn’t be more true.”
The Status newsletter reported in January (according to the Post) that Gavshon was exasperated after CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss subjected a 60 Minutes segment — an Anderson Cooper report about a White House policy of accepting South African refugees, whom President Donald Trump described as victims of a white genocide — to unusual editorial feedback.
That segment finally aired in late February, days after Cooper declined to renew his 60 Minutes contract.
Gavshon was also reportedly upset by CBS News leadership’s decision to fire executive producer Tanya Simon, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, and others in May.
And earlier this month, former 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley lost his job at the newsmagazine after accusing Weiss of “murdering” the show.
“You have three respected 60 Minutes journalists saying that Bari or her lieutenants have tried to insert misstatements in their stories,” Betsy West, former senior vice president of CBS News, told Variety recently. “It feels like she and the people she reports to are trying to check the independence of 60 Minutes and ultimately undermine the free press that undergirds our democracy.”
And former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft told Variety that Ellis and Weiss haven’t shown a desire to stand up to Trump and his threats against 60 Minutes. The magazine notes that Paramount Skydance is seeking FCC approval for its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Conversation8 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Register or sign in to join the conversation.
-
L
CBS is DEAD to me.
I DON’T INTEND TO WATCH IT ANYMORE!
-
A
After having fired so many experienced hands, CBS keeps making one bad decision after another!
-
J
NO! We need to fight for clear and accurate news! If you resign you are saying it’s ok to squash news!!! Please fight for our freedom of information!!!!
-
R
Uh, no actually, quite the opposite. Staying with a news company that is doing wrong is saying it's okay to lie and misinform people.
-
-
E
The same exact thing is happening to CNN, any negative voices for that bloated orange windbag are being silenced by this administration. Then when the mid term elections are a landslide for democrats, the negative propaganda about the democrats begins. Ok folks, the moment any pro trump voice repeats the phrase "at the end of the whatever proceeded it is a gigantic lie. Even comments here are subject to approval.
-
S
Like any other job that revamps it's direction, you either go along with the change or get another job. Everyone is replaceable and very dispensable rather they want to believe it or not.
-
C
Clearly, it's more than just a simple change of direction. It’s not a change of logo design, it's reportedly a change of editorial policy and political beliefs. I have had a news director question my writing and as an anchor, I've questioned reporters leads and submission timeliness. Those could be simple direction issues but these alleged demands are far worse. And people at the top of their game with decades of experience and connections are not so easily replaced
-
-
J
We don’t watch 60 minutes , it’s liberals spew hatred and focus on Trump, the rhetoric had to stop
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services