CBS News names ’60 Minutes’ veteran Tanya Simon as broadcast’s new top producer

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CBS News said Thursday it has selected Tanya Simon as the top producer at “60 Minutes,” elevating a respected insider in a closely-watched appointment given the turmoil that enveloped the newsmagazine with the settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit.

Simon, daughter of the late “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, becomes only the fourth executive producer of the influential newsmagazine since it was invented by Don Hewitt in the late 1960s.

She’s been executive editor of the broadcast, and running it on an interim basis since her predecessor Bill Owens quit in April, saying he questioned whether he’d be allowed to lead the program as he saw fit.

Owens had opposed settling Trump’s lawsuit over the editing of last fall’s interview with Kamala Harris. CBS News parent company Paramount Global agreed earlier this month to pay Trump $16 million to end their dispute.

Simon has worked at “60 Minutes” for 25 years, and was strongly supported by many at the famously insular broadcast to take over for Owens.

“Tanya Simon understands what makes ’60 Minutes’ tick,” said Tom Cibrowski, president and executive editor of CBS News. “She is an innovative leader, an exceptional producer, and someone who knows how to inspire people.”

In May, seven “60 Minutes” correspondents signed a letter to Paramount Global management urging that Simon be appointed. “As much as we will miss Bill Owens, we believe — no, we know — that his long-term successor must come from within,” the correspondents wrote.

Crucially, Simon’s appointment came before the Trump administration’s approval of Paramount Global’s proposed merger with Skydance Media, a takeover that is expected to result in changes at CBS News.