Josh Howard, who served as executive producer for a controversial 60 Minutes Wednesday story on President Bush, has resigned from his position at CBS News.
Howard is the last among the three CBS News staff asked to resign after a botched Sept. 20, 2004, story on the president's service in the Texas Air National Guard. CBS News Senior Vice President Betsy West and Senior Broadcast Producer Mary Murphy resigned several weeks ago.
Dan Rather, who reported the Bush story, remained with the network but stepped down from the CBS Evening News anchor desk on March 9, one year shy of his 25th anniversary on the show.
In a statement, CBS acknowledged Howard's 20 year career with its news division. "We recognize Mr. Howard's many contributions to CBS News during his tenure, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors,” CBS said.
The only CBS News employee to be fired for involvement in the Bush-National Guard story, Mary Mapes, plans to write a book about the fiasco for St. Martin's Press. On Tuesday, Reuters cited sources who said the deal was worth more than $500,000; the book will likely be published this fall.
