CBS News’ 60 Minutes ended this evening with a segment on the surprise departure of executive producer Bill Owens, a move that has drawn a great deal of consternation in the news division over what’s ahead with parent company Paramount Global’s efforts to merge with Skydance.

Bill Owens has been with CBS News for nearly four decades. After his internship in 1988, he became a senior producer for the White House beat and later, senior broadcast producer for CBS Evening News.

Minutes’ top journalist Scott Pelley condemned CBS parent company Paramount in an on-air rebuke of the network. Pelley directly criticized the network in the first episode since the program’s executive producer,