Draggan Mihailovich has been named the next executive editor of 60 Minutes, after 27 years with the program and a spinoff.
Tanya Simon was named executive producer of 60 Minutes last month, after the departure of Bill Owens.
Simon called Mihailovich “a first-rate journalist and storyteller whose pieces have been among the most memorable to air on 60 Minutes since he joined the broadcast nearly three decades ago. Whether he’s producing investigations, features or profiles of legendary athletes, he thinks big and has the highest standards.”
The appointment comes after a period of consternation and disruption at the newsmagazine, one of the top rated primetime shows on television. Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the network, over the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris, became a flashpoint as parent Paramount Global sought Trump administration approval of its merger with Skydance. Although the network and legal experts said that the lawsuit was without merit, CBS settled for $16 million.
Mihailovich has been a producer for 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II, earning seven Emmys and three Edward R. Murrow Awards. In the past decade, he has produced for Jon Wertheim and Sharyn Alfonsi.
His reporting includes pieces on the Sudanese lost boys, 3,000 young men who were orphaned during Sudan’s civil war and resettled in the U.S. Another was on Rafid Ahmed Alwan, the Iraqi defector who was code named “Curve Ball.” Alwans story on mobile biological weapons, which was fabricated, played a major part in the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Both pieces won Emmys.
Before CBS, Mihailovich led the Olympic research departments at CBS Sports and ABC Sports. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1983.
The post Draggan Mihailovich Named Executive Editor Of ’60 Minutes’ appeared first on Deadline.