Longtime 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager out after sexual misconduct allegations

The Hollywood Reporter

Fager, who has led 60 Minutes since 2004 and who was CBS News chairman from 2011 to 2015, is exiting CBS News, effective immediately, following reports accusing him of sexual misconduct and promoting an abusive workplace. Fager, 63, has been with CBS News since 1982 and was the second leader of 60 Minutes, succeeding the legendary Don Hewitt. Fager's exit comes three days after Ronan Farrow reported on a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Fager in The New Yorker. A former CBS News producer, Sarah Johansen, told Farrow he groped her when she was an intern. "This action today is not directly related to the allegations surfaced in press reports, which continue to be investigated independently," said CBS News president David Rhodes. "However, he violated company policy and it is our commitment to uphold those policies at every level." Fager will be replaced on an interim basis by 60 Minutes executive editor Bill Owens. Fager released a statement responding to his ouster: "The company’s decision had nothing to do with the false allegations printed in The New Yorker. 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.”