Fager out at CBS

State resident in 15th season as ‘60 Minutes’ exec

NEW CANAAN — Jeff Fager, longtime executive producer of “60 Minutes,” saw his contract with CBS terminated after 36 years with the company amid allegations of inappropriate conduct.

According to various reports, CBS News President David Rhodes said Fager, a New Canaan resident, would be “leaving the company effective immediately” in a memo sent Wednesday.

The memo notes that Fager’s termination is not directly related to allegations reported in a New Yorker article, but because he violated company policy.

In a statement, Fager said his termination was unrelated to what he called false allegations printed in The New Yorker but rather because of a text message he sent to a CBS reporter “demanding that she be fair in covering the story.”

According to tax records, Fager bought his New Canaan home in 1999 for $1.3 million.

Fager released a defensive statement regarding his departure. “My language was harsh and, despite the fact that journalists receive harsh demands for fairness all the time, CBS did not like it. One such note should not result in termination after 36 years, but it did,” Fager wrote.

Fager’s termination comes in the wake of the departure of Les Moonves , former CEO and chairman of CBS, from the company after he was accused of sexual harassment by various women in a Sept. 9 New Yorker article.