NEW 60 MIN. BOSS
Zirinsky favorite for post
“48 Hours” producer Susan Zirinsky has emerged as the front-runner to become the new executive producer of “60 Minutes” at CBS News, sources told The Post.
Zirinsky, 66, is the favorite to fill the shoes of veteran producer Jeff Fager, who was fired last month amid accusations of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment, according to insiders briefed on the situation.
An announcement is expected as soon as next week, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified.
Sources said Zirinsky — a hardnosed, well-respected producer known to many at the company as “Z” — had recently been neck-and-neck with Bill Owens in the running for Fager’s job.
Owens, the longtime No. 2 exec at “60 Minutes,” was named as an interim replacement for Fager last month by CBS News boss David Rhodes.
Senior producer Tanya Simon, daughter of the late “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, had also been seen as a contender for Fager’s job. Now, it appears that Simon is poised to be named Zirinsky’s No. 2 if Zirinsky takes the helm at the weekly TV news magazine, insiders said.
Reached Friday about the planned shakeup, a CBS spokeswoman said “no decision has been made,” declining to comment further.
Zirinsky, who joined CBS News in 1972, has been executive producer of “48 Hours,” the long-running crime and justice series, since 1996.
Zirinsky also has supervised award-winning documentaries and breaking news specials. Her hardcharging, passionate persona served as the inspiration for Holly Hunter’s news producer character in the 1987 film “Broadcast News.”
Fager was given his walking papers last month, following Ronan Farrow’s probe published in The New Yorker, which included accusations that Fager touched female employees inappropriately. Separately, The Washington Post reported that Fager tolerated years of alleged abusive conduct by a senior producer.
Ultimately, however, he was ousted after sending a threatening text message to one of CBS’ reporters, who was investigating claims about him made in The New Yorker.
Fager’s exit came amid broader sexual misconduct allegations against longtime Chairman and Chief Executive Les Moonves, as well as claims of a sexist culture. Moonves resigned last month, and CBS named Chief Operating Officer Joseph Ianniello as interim head.