CBS CBS Corp

By Maria Armental

Tanya Simon, a long-time CBS Corp. journalist and daughter of the late veteran correspondent Bob Simon, has been promoted to executive editor of "60 Minutes."

As the No. 2 executive at the venerable Sunday night news magazine, Ms. Simon will report to Bill Owens.

"Tanya is fantastic journalist with two decades worth of reporting at 60 Minutes. She has been central to this season's strong start, both on TV and our digital platform," Mr. Owens said in a statement. "I could not ask for a better partner."

The appointment of Ms. Simon fills a high-profile vacancy in CBS' news division following a series of allegations that led to the ouster of several high-ranking men at the company, including company chairman and Chief Executive Les Moonves.

Longtime Chief Operating Officer Joe Ianniello assumed the reins on a temporary basis while the company searched for a permanent successor.

Mr. Owens, who had worked as "60 Minutes" executive editor since 2008, assumed the news magazine's top post after Jeff Fager was fired last year following a confrontation with a CBS News reporter who was probing allegations of inappropriate conduct by Mr. Fager.

Messrs. Moonves and Fager have denied the allegations against them.

Ms. Simon joined CBS News in 1996 as a researcher for news magazine "48 Hours" and most recently worked as a senior producer with "60 Minutes," where she oversaw digital content and supervised production of "60 Minutes Sports" for Showtime.

Her work includes producing the first major TV interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; the Emmy Award-winning first interview with Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the captain of US Airways Flight 1549 that landed safely on New York's Hudson River in January 2009; and an investigation that revealed how cyclist Lance Armstrong used banned substances to win races.

60 Minutes premiered in 1968 and has anchored the CBS Sunday primetime schedule since 1976.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 11, 2019 21:44 ET (01:44 GMT)

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