‘60 Minutes’ Revises Piece Because Of Cbs’ Legal Concerns

CBS Inc. lawyers ordered “60 Minutes” to kill an on-the-record interview with a former tobacco company executive who criticized the industry, The New York Times reported today.

For Sunday’s show, the network substituted a revised report examining how cigarette manufacturers try to keep information from getting out, the paper said.

“I felt for a number of reasons, both editorially and legally, that changes had to be made in the piece,” CBS News president Eric Ober said.

Both correspondent Mike Wallace, who reported the story, and executive producer Don Hewitt told the Times they supported the decision.

There was no answer at the show’s offices late Wednesday, and phones in the offices of program spokesmen rang unanswered as well.

CBS’ concern, in part, was that it might be held legally responsible because the executive had an agreement with the company, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., not to disclose internal information, The Times said.