CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ executive producer Jeff Fager extends vacation amid harassment scandal
CBS News executive Jeff Fager, the embattled executive producer of “60 Minutes,” is extending his vacation amid a review into the workplace culture of CBS News.
“Having heard the investigation will be wrapping up soon, Jeff has decided to stay on vacation,“ CBS News said in a statement Sunday morning.
Fager previously planned to return to work Monday. But he came under harsh light in a July 27 New Yorker magazine article that alleged Fager acted boorishly at after-hours work functions and allowed a culture that tolerated discrimination and inappropriate behavior within the storied newsmagazine.
CBS earlier this spring hired the Proskauer Rose law firm to investigate CBS News in the wake of the allegations that Charlie Rose, the longtime PBS show host and contributor to “60 Minutes” and anchor of “CBS This Morning,” had taken advantage of young female assistants who worked for him. The law firm’s investigation appears to be in the final stages.
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But now, CBS Corp. is embroiled in a scandal that threatens the tenure of Chief Executive Leslie Moonves, who is facing allegations that he sexually harassed at least six women. In addition, the Los Angeles Police Department investigated a claim by another woman, who said that Moonves in the 1980s had demanded that she perform sex acts on him. Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to bring charges because the statute of limitations had expired.
On Wednesday, CBS’ board announced that it was hiring two high-powered law firms to investigate the culture throughout the company along with allegations against Moonves, who has acknowledged that he might have made some women feel uncomfortable but denied that he forced himself on them.
On Sunday, CBS’ entertainment division was featured at the Television Critics Assn. conference in Beverly Hills and CBS entertainment chief addressed the allegations head on.
“Obviously this has been a tough week at “CBS,” CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl said Sunday morning at the Television Critics Assn. in Beverly Hills. “Leslie has been an excellent boss and a mentor for a long time. He put me in this job, but at the same time, we must respect the voices that come forward. All allegations need to be, and are, being taken seriously.”
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