Jeff Fager
Born
Jeffrey B. Fager

(1954-12-10) December 10, 1954 (age 71)
Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materColgate University
OccupationTelevision producer
SpouseMelinda Wooster
Children3
Parents

Jeffrey B. Fager (born December 10, 1954) is an American television producer who is the former chairman of CBS News and former executive producer of 60 Minutes.

Biography

Fager was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to an Episcopalian family,[1] the son of Margaret (née Bulkley) and Charles Anthony Fager.[2][3] He graduated from Colgate University in 1977.[4]

Career

He began his career in broadcast news as a production assistant in Boston, in 1977, then joined CBS News in San Francisco, California, in 1982, at affiliate KPIX-TV. From 1983–1988, Fager was a producer on CBS Evening News, while based in London and New York, then became a producer at 60 Minutes in 1989, and was then on the team that created primetime CBS News magazine 48 Hours. He became the senior broadcast producer for the CBS Evening News in 1994, then its executive producer, in 1996,[5] departing the role in 1998 to become the first executive producer of 60 Minutes II.[4] In June 2004, he assumed the position of executive producer of 60 Minutes.[6]

In February 2011, it was announced that Fager would lead the news division of CBS as chairman of CBS News, a newly created position. In tandem with the newly appointed president, David Rhodes, Fager would head CBS News while continuing to executive produce 60 Minutes.[7] After stepping in as chairman of CBS News, Fager said he would "restore CBS News to where it should be, where it needs to be", using the original reporting and storytelling of 60 Minutes as a benchmark for its other news programs.[8] On January 1, 2015, Fager stepped down as chairman but continued in his executive producer role at 60 Minutes until his 2018 departure from CBS News more generally. David Rhodes continued to serve as President of the CBS News Division.[9]

Fager's book, 50 Years of 60 Minutes: The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential Broadcast,[10] was published by Simon & Schuster in 2017.[11] The Washington Post then noted that, while it "does not take us backstairs" of the program, "the book will illuminate the broad contribution of 60 Minutes and underscore the power of smart, compelling storytelling", and that "Many of Fager's examples are worthy of historians' study." [12]

In 2018, 19 existing and former CBS employees told The New Yorker that Fager allowed harassment within the news division. Six former employees also told the magazine that, while inebriated at company parties, he touched employees in ways that made them uncomfortable.[13][14] Fager was ousted from CBS News on September 12, 2018.[15][16][17] CBS News reported that Fager had sent a text message warning Jericka Duncan, one of the network's correspondents, when she sought his response to the report in The New Yorker:[18] "Be careful, There are people who lost their jobs trying to harm me, and if you pass on these damaging claims without your own reporting to back them up, that will become a serious problem."[19]

Fager, who is noted for successfully enforcing 60 Minutes independence from CBS control, including letting staff make editorial decisions without corporate influence,[20] was interviewed among several industry veterans, in July 2025, about the unprecedented Paramount settlement for subsidiary CBS made with Donald Trump, which had been preceded by the abrupt resignation of long-time 60 Minutes producer Bill Owens. Fager said of the deal, "it's a shame, and it’s a mistake", and expressed concern for the future oversight of his former program.[21] That October, when interviewed by Lachlan Cartwright for Breaker Media, Fager further stated that it was another "mistake" for newly-installed CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss to report directly to the new Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, a structure he described as "really unusual."[22]

Awards

Personal life

Fager is married to Melinda Wooster; they live in New Canaan, Connecticut,[2] with their three children.[26]

References

  1. ^ Jewish Ledger: "60 Minutes: At War With The Truth" by Judie Jacobson May 15, 2013 | Then, on April 7 of this year, CBS chairman Jeff Fager spoke at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan, where he is a member, as part of the church’s weekly program, “Abraham’s Tent: Jews, Christians and Muslims in the World Today.”
  2. ^ a b The Needham Times: "Margaret Fager" from March 24, 2015 | "Memorial Service will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Wellesley"
  3. ^ Wellesley Patch: "In memory of Dr. Charles A. Fager" by Carol Kerbaugh April 9, 2014
  4. ^ a b "CBS News Team: Jeffrey Fager". CBS News. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  5. ^ Powers, Lindsay (2011-02-08). "CBS News: Jeff Fager Appointed Chairman, David Rhodes Named President". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  6. ^ Hewitt Sets 60 Minutes Transition, January 27, 2003
  7. ^ Jeffrey Fager CBS News Bio, February 28, 2011
  8. ^ CBS News: We'll Never Pay Casey Anthony, Apologize to Lance Armstrong, July 28, 2011
  9. ^ Jeff Fager Announces His Decision to Return to Role as Executive Producer of "60 Minutes" Full-Time and to Step Down From Post as Chairman of CBS News, November 20, 2014
  10. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (2017-11-07). "'60 Minutes' Veterans Talk 50 Years of Storytelling, Big Gets, and Interviews That Got Away". Variety. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  11. ^ Fager, Jeff (2017-10-24). Fifty Years of 60 Minutes: The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential News Broadcast. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-3580-4.
  12. ^ Sesno, Frank (2017-12-03). "Book review: 'Fifty Years of 60 Minutes'". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  13. ^ Ronan Farrow. "Les Moonves and CBS Face Allegations of Sexual Misconduct". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  14. ^ Farrow, Ronan (2018-09-09). "Leslie Moonves Steps Down from CBS, After Six Women Raise New Assault and Harassment Claims". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  15. ^ Castillo, Michelle (2018-09-12). "CBS: '60 Minutes' executive Jeff Fager is out because of violating policy". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  16. ^ Brian Stelter (September 12, 2018). "'60 Minutes' producer Jeff Fager leaving CBS amid allegations of inappropriate conduct". CNN. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018.
  17. ^ Keach Hagey (September 12, 2018). "CBS '60 Minutes' Executive Producer Jeff Fager to Depart". The Wall Street Journal.
  18. ^ "Fired "60 Minutes" boss warned CBS News reporter: "There are people who've lost their jobs trying to harm me"". CBS News. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  19. ^ Stelter, Brian (2018-09-12). "'60 Minutes' producer Jeff Fager fired after sending CBS reporter 'unacceptable' message". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  20. ^ Malone, Clare (2026-01-19). "Inside Bari Weiss's Hostile Takeover of CBS News". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  21. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M.; Enrich, David (2025-07-02). "For '60 Minutes,' a Humbling Moment at an Uneasy Time for Press Freedom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  22. ^ Cartwright, Lachlan. "🔎SCOOP: Inside The Air Puck Deal; Jeff Fager on Bari Weiss, 60 Minutes & David Ellison". Breaker. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  23. ^ "2007 Gerald Loeb Award Winners Announced by UCLA Anderson School of Management". Business Wire. June 25, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  24. ^ "Paul White Award". Radio Television Digital News Association. Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  25. ^ "UCLA Anderson School of Management Announces 2014 Gerald Loeb Award Winners". UCLA Anderson School of Management. June 24, 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  26. ^ CBS News: "Jeffrey Fager bio" by David Kohn February 26, 2002
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