Bill Owens has been with CBS News for nearly four decades. After his internship in 1988, he became a senior producer for the White House beat and later, senior broadcast producer for CBS Evening News.

CBS News’ 60 Minutes ended this evening with a segment on the surprise departure of executive producer Bill Owens, a move that has drawn a great deal of consternation in the news division over what’s ahead with parent company Paramount Global’s efforts to merge with Skydance.

CBS News anchor Scott Pelley blamed parent company Paramount for pushing out 60 Minutes’s executive producer Bill Owens. The hit Sunday program has run for almost 60 years and has only had three executive producers — until last week,