Capitulation 60 Minutes: The Real-Time Collapse of a Network Under Autocracy

When the Sunday institution that once took down tobacco execs folds to appease a man who sues over interview edits, we’re not watching journalism, we’re watching surrender.

For over half a century, 60 Minutes was the beating heart of American investigative journalism. Presidents ducked their interviews. CEOs dreaded their knocks. They chased war criminals, uncovered lies, and shamed power into accountability.

But now? Now it caves, not to law, not to ethics, not even to ratings, but to the whims of a man so thin-skinned he sued because an opponent’s answer didn’t flatter his own delusions.

Bill Owens, one of only three people ever to helm the iconic news program, just walked away. Not because he wanted to. Because he couldn’t stay. His memo is heartbreaking and brave: “It has become clear I would not be allowed to run the show as I've always run it.” Translation: editorial independence is dead and CBS’s parent company, Paramount, is willing to bury it in a shallow grave if it secures Donald Trump’s blessing to complete a multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media, a firm run by the son of Larry Ellison.

In other words, a fearless newsroom got sold out to fund a yacht.

This is not just another Trump tantrum. It’s the systemic fusion of state power and corporate cowardice, with the FCC under Brendan Carr acting less like a neutral regulator and more like a consigliere for the regime. You don’t want the Justice Department tanking your merger? Then stop airing stories about accountability. Maybe do a segment on duck migration instead.

As Sarah Longwell, of The Bullwark, aptly put it: Trump’s lawsuits are nonsense. Every one of these cases, from CBS to ABC to Harvard Law firms, would get laughed out of court. But that’s not the point. The lawsuits aren’t about winning. They’re about intimidation. And when billionaires like Shari Redstone start looking for deals instead of truth, the message gets passed down the chain: make it stop. Even if that means making 60 Minutes soft.

The saddest part? This capitulation comes just as the tide seemed to be turning. Law firms were starting to push back. University leaders were writing public letters. Even a few media outlets were tiptoeing back toward their spines. But instead of joining the resistance, CBS blinked. The most iconic news show in America folded, not because of journalistic failure, but because its owners got squeamish about Trump’s power over their checkbooks.

If that doesn’t chill your spine, you’re not paying attention.