The independence of television’s “60 Minutes” from the rest of CBS News led to misconduct by some employees of the highly-acclaimed show, investigators for the network reportedly conclude.
According to The New York Times, a draft of a report to the CBS board of directors by investigators said “the physical, administrative and cultural separation between ’60 Minutes’ and the rest of CBS News permitted” the misconduct.
The show’s Executive Producer Jeff Fager was fired earlier this year after he threatened a reporter for the network news, who was looking into allegations about his behavior, the newspaper said.
Investigators wrote in the draft report that Fager had “engaged in certain acts of sexual misconduct” with colleagues and had failed to stop misbehavior by others, the Times reported.
After he was dismissed, Fager had pushed back, and said the network "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," the New York Post had reported.
But investigators reportedly noted Fager’s actions were less severe than his predecessor, Don Hewitt, who died in 2009. The Times said investigators revealed the network is continuing to pay out a settlement to a woman, who maintains Hewitt sexually assaulted her.
The Times pointed out that CBS forced Les Moonves out as the network’s chief executive in September. He had been the target of multiple claims of sexual misconduct, which he has denied.
The board hired two law firms to probe allegations against Moonves, CBS News and “60 Minutes.” Investigators will present their findings next week.
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