Jeff Fager

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.

Jeff Fager
Born
Jeffrey B. Fager

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

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] He began his career in broadcast news in Boston and joined CBS News in 1982 from San Francisco, California, CBS affiliate KPIX-TV, where he was a broadcast producer.

Fager was Executive Producer of the CBS Evening News from 1996 to 1998[4] and held senior and field producer positions for that and other CBS News programs, including 60 Minutes. He left the Evening News 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

On January 1, 2015, Fager stepped down as chairman but continued in his executive producer role of 60 Minutes until his 2018 departure from CBS News. David Rhodes continued to serve as President of the CBS News Division.[8]

Personal life

Fager is married to Melinda Wooster; they live in New Canaan, Connecticut,[2] with their three children.[9]

Controversy

In 2018, nineteen current and former CBS employees told The New Yorker that Fager allowed harassment in 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.[10][11]

Fager was ousted from CBS News on September 12, 2018.[12][13][14] CBS News reported that Fager had sent a threatening text message to Jericka Duncan, one of the network's correspondents, when she sought his response to the report in The New Yorker.[15] The text read "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."[16]

Awards

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. 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. "CBS News Team: Jeffrey Fager". CBS News. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  5. Hewitt Sets 60 Minutes Transition, January 27, 2003
  6. Jeffrey Fager CBS News Bio, February 28, 2011
  7. CBS News: We'll Never Pay Casey Anthony, Apologize to Lance Armstrong, July 28, 2011
  8. 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
  9. CBS News: "Jeffrey Fager bio" by David Kohn February 26, 2002
  10. Ronan Farrow. "Les Moonves and CBS Face Allegations of Sexual Misconduct". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  11. 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.
  12. Castillo, Michelle (2018-09-12). "CBS: '60 Minutes' executive Jeff Fager is out because of violating policy". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  13. Brian Stelter (September 12, 2018). "'60 Minutes' producer Jeff Fager leaving CBS amid allegations of inappropriate conduct". CNN.
  14. Keach Hagey (September 12, 2018). "CBS '60 Minutes' Executive Producer Jeff Fager to Depart". The Wall Street Journal.
  15. "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.
  16. Stelter, Brian (2018-09-12). "'60 Minutes' producer Jeff Fager fired after sending CBS reporter 'unacceptable' message". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  17. "2007 Gerald Loeb Award Winners Announced by UCLA Anderson School of Management". Business Wire. June 25, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  18. "Paul White Award". Radio Television Digital News Association. Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  19. "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.
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