CBS’ Jeff Fager is out as the executive producer of “60 Minutes” on Wednesday after sexual misconduct allegations against him surfaced in August.
CBS’ own morning news show “This Morning” confirmed the news as reports popped up online.
NEW: @60Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager is leaving @CBSNews effective immediately. Bill Owens, who had served as Executive Editor, will manage the “60 Minutes” team as CBS leadership searches for a new executive producer of the program.
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) September 12, 2018
In a statement, Mr. Fager said CBS’ decision to let him go was not because of allegations made in Ronan Farrow’s latest exposé into sexual misconduct allegations at CBS.
“The company’s decision had nothing to do with the false allegations printed in The New Yorker,” he said, “Instead, they terminated my contract early because I sent a text message to one of our own CBS reporters demanding that she be fair in covering the story.”
“My language was harsh and, despite the fact that journalists receive harsh demands for fairness all the time, CBS did not like it. One such note should not result in termination after 36 years, but it did,” Mr. Fager explained.
In the report, Mr. Fager was accused of inappropriately touching and talking to employees. He also allegedly covered up other accusations of abuse from other men, including an alleged physical incident between senior producers Michael Radutzky and Vicki Gordon.
Mr. Fager denied the allegations made in Mr. Farrow’s report.
In a statement to Mr. Farrow, the CBS producer said, “”It is wrong that our culture can be falsely defined by a few people with an axe to grind who are using an important movement as a weapon to get even, and not by the hundreds of women and men that have thrived, both personally and professionally, at ’60 Minutes.’”
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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