FCC chair keeps all options on the table after 60 Minutes Scott Pelley calls out Paramount bosses on air

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said “all options are on the table” as he reviews Paramount Global’s merger with Skydance Media – a day after “60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley launched an astonishing on-air attack on CBS owner Paramount that accused them of interfering with the program’s coverage.Pelley went rogue at the end of Sunday night’s episode during what appeared to be a simple tribute to Bill Owens, the longtime “60 Minutes” executive producer who quit last week over the company’s heavy-handed interference.“Bill resigned Tuesday — it was hard on him and hard on us,” Pelley said in his closing remarks on the show he has worked on for more than 20 years.“But he did it for us — and you,” he told viewers — then unexpectedly suggested that Owens’ exit could end the era of coverage being “accurate and fair.”“Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger,” he said, noting that it needs approval from the Trump administration.“Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways.”Pelley said that while “none of our stories have been blocked,” Owens “felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”Trump’s head of the Federal Communications Commission said Monday that he will review complaints over alleged news distortion in CBS’ “60 Minutes’” sitdown with then-Vice President Kamala Harris but he did not provide a timeline for making a decision.Carr last month rejected a bid from CBS to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the Harris interview violated the FCC’s “news distortion” rules.

Paramount is seeking FCC approval for an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.Meanwhile, the CBS-produced show is currently embroiled in a $20 billion lawsuit with President Trump, who claims that the show deceptively edited the sitdown to benefit Harris.The president has also criticized the program for being biased under executive producer Bill Owens.Carr was asked what would happen with...