“This is a dream come true,” Vega said in a statement about her move to CBS. “I am beyond honored to join the ranks of this legendary show and to work alongside the best reporters in journalism.”
Bill Owens, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” said that Vega was the “first and only person” he mentioned when CBS executive George Cheeks asked him a few years ago what potential hires he was considering for his vision of the show’s future.
“I think she’s a throwback,” Owens said in an interview. “She’s classic in the most elegant and sophisticated way. She’s also interested in every type of story.”
To do well on “60 Minutes,” Owens said that correspondents have to be writers, reporters and storytellers — and that Vega has all the necessary skills and experience. In particular, he praised her “really classy” coverage of the Trump White House and said she succeeded at “not becoming part of the story.”
The show, which debuted in 1968, has been the most-watched non-sports prime time program during the 2022-2023 television season, averaging 9.59 million total viewers. A recent episode featuring an interview with Prince Harry drew a season high 11.2 million total viewers, the kind of mass audience that has become more rare as audiences gravitate away from traditional television.
Owens acknowledged that the show has a “very competitive’ environment. But when he shared the news of Vega’s hiring with the show’s other correspondents, he said, “every single person was like, ‘Great,’ because she’s done the work. They get it. This is the kind of person who steps up and into ‘60 Minutes.’”
