A "60 Minutes" interview with Bob Dylan that was set to air Sunday about his new autobiography marked the third Simon & Schuster book this year to get exposure on television's most venerated newsmagazine.

The publisher's marketing department might want to take all the credit. But it probably doesn't hurt that Simon & Schuster and the network "60 Minutes" calls home, CBS, are owned by the same parent company, Viacom. The newsmagazine stirred up angst among media watchdogs in March for not disclosing that fact on-air during a report on the Simon & Schuster-published book about the Bush administration by former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke.

After the flap over the Clarke book, "60 Minutes" made sure to include a disclaimer before an April segment on another Simon & Schuster book, from author Bob Woodward. But considering the frequency with which the disclaimer has been used in recent months, including with the Dylan interview, it seemed as familiar a refrain as "Like a Rolling Stone."

It was there Nov. 21 for a profile of Jim Carrey, complete with footage of him on the set of "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." Was it a coincidence that "60 Minutes" profiled Carrey just weeks before "Lemony Snicket" is released by another Viacom division, Paramount Pictures?

The month before, "60 Minutes" treated two stars of Viacom-owned Comedy Central, Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, to separate segments just four days apart, on Oct. 20 and Oct. 24. "60 Minutes" had a double disclaimer Oct. 13 with a profile of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of Comedy Central's "South Park" and Paramount's "Team America: World Police." The newsmagazine also covered "Jeopardy!" on Sept. 5 and pointed out who owns the distributor of the game show, namely CBS' King World Prods.

Jeff Fager, who took over executive producing duties on the Sunday edition of "60 Minutes" in June from the newsmagazine's creator, Don Hewitt, adamantly rejects the notion that the show serves as a promotional platform for its parent company.

"Nobody (within Viacom) has ever once suggested to me, 'You might want to look at this story because it's Viacom,' " he says. "These are all perfectly newsworthy stories."

Fager notes that when it comes to pop culture and entertainment matters, the newsmagazine has devoted more time to non-Viacom-related subjects, citing recent segments on Dustin Hoffman, Bill O'Reilly and Michael Moore. Fager also acknowledges that "60 Minutes" has walked away from other Viacom-related subjects out of conflict-of-interest concerns.

In fairness, it's hard to blame "60 Minutes" for its story selections considering that it is part of a media conglomerate with many tentacles in an increasingly consolidated industry. From CNN to Fox News Channel to the Big Three networks, all of the major U.S. TV news outlets are now cogs of media and entertainment behemoths. NBC News took a major drubbing this year from critics for serving up "Dateline" specials on the finales of NBC comedies "Friends" and "Frasier."

"I think in some ways it's inescapable," Fager says of potential conflicts. "Can you imagine saying no to Bob Dylan just because it's a Simon & Schuster book?"

There's no question that Dylan's first major TV interview in nearly 20 years is a good get. But shouldn't "60 Minutes" seek to avoid any whiff of impropriety in light of extenuating circumstances? The newsmagazine's 37th year on the air has been rocked by allegations that CBS paid $1 million to land the first post-arrest interview with Michael Jackson -- a claim vehemently denied by CBS -- and by the use of suspect documents in a September report in its Wednesday edition on President Bush's National Guard service.

A newsmagazine known for keeping coporate America in line, exposing government malfeasance and many other wrongs over the years serves its viewers' best by exercising great care to not appear as being compromised itself.