John Amato, the CEO of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard media group who stepped down earlier this week amid allegations of influencing newsroom procedures, has been accused of sexual harassment and other improper behavior, according to a report in The Daily Beast, which cites “three sources with direct knowledge of the outcome of the internal investigation.”
The probe began with allegations of sexual harassment and expanded over the past few weeks to include an audit of parts of the company’s 2016 acquisition of SpinMedia for examinations of financial wrongdoing, the report says, adding that the investigation is also examining whether the company properly addressed staffers’ complaints of inappropriate behavior by senior company officials. It cites “nearly a dozen current and former employees as well as a person familiar with the company’s business who all spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.” Reps for the organization’s parent company,...
The probe began with allegations of sexual harassment and expanded over the past few weeks to include an audit of parts of the company’s 2016 acquisition of SpinMedia for examinations of financial wrongdoing, the report says, adding that the investigation is also examining whether the company properly addressed staffers’ complaints of inappropriate behavior by senior company officials. It cites “nearly a dozen current and former employees as well as a person familiar with the company’s business who all spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.” Reps for the organization’s parent company,...
- 7/14/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
John Amato, the New York-based CEO of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group has resigned his post.
The move comes during a period of realignment as the company’s new owners, Valence Media, arrange properties including the media brands as well as Media Rights Capital, Dick Clark Productions and a stake in A24. Valence co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk announced Amato’s departure this morning, saying a search is under way for his replacement.
While a broader restructuring has been ongoing this year at Valence and its properties, the timing of Amato’s departure may not have been entirely accidental. Amato had recently faced criticism from editorial staffers, especially at Billboard, for allegedly interfering with the publication of several stories outlining sexual misconduct claims against his music industry associates. Charlie Walk, the former president of Republic Records who was ousted as a judge on Fox’s reality show The Four,...
The move comes during a period of realignment as the company’s new owners, Valence Media, arrange properties including the media brands as well as Media Rights Capital, Dick Clark Productions and a stake in A24. Valence co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk announced Amato’s departure this morning, saying a search is under way for his replacement.
While a broader restructuring has been ongoing this year at Valence and its properties, the timing of Amato’s departure may not have been entirely accidental. Amato had recently faced criticism from editorial staffers, especially at Billboard, for allegedly interfering with the publication of several stories outlining sexual misconduct claims against his music industry associates. Charlie Walk, the former president of Republic Records who was ousted as a judge on Fox’s reality show The Four,...
- 7/11/2018
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
John Amato, the CEO of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, has resigned from his position.
In an email to staff obtained by Variety, Valence Media co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk wrote that “the search process for THR/Billboard’s next CEO has already started. … Thanks for your patience, attention and commitment during this transition. ” Valence is parent company to THR, Billboard, Media Rights Capital, Dick Clark Productions and film studio A24.
Amato joined the company in 2014 following stints as chief executive at Backstage and Sonicbids, both former properties alongside trade magazines Billboard and THR. He was the chief architect in launching the Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival, which is scheduled for August 18 and 19 in Jones Beach, New York, and also played a key role in the company’s acquisition of music websites Spin, Vibe and Stereogum in Dec. 2016. At the time, Amato boasted that the group “will be able to...
In an email to staff obtained by Variety, Valence Media co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk wrote that “the search process for THR/Billboard’s next CEO has already started. … Thanks for your patience, attention and commitment during this transition. ” Valence is parent company to THR, Billboard, Media Rights Capital, Dick Clark Productions and film studio A24.
Amato joined the company in 2014 following stints as chief executive at Backstage and Sonicbids, both former properties alongside trade magazines Billboard and THR. He was the chief architect in launching the Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival, which is scheduled for August 18 and 19 in Jones Beach, New York, and also played a key role in the company’s acquisition of music websites Spin, Vibe and Stereogum in Dec. 2016. At the time, Amato boasted that the group “will be able to...
- 7/11/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
The Fyre Festival was a disaster on such an epochal scale that it’s become an adjective for abject failure: The heavily hyped “luxury concert” — taking place in April of last year on a small island in the Bahamas and scheduled to feature Blink-182, Migos and Disclosure — collapsed before it had even started. Far from the luxury accommodations and celebrity-chef-prepared meals promised by its producers — entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule — concertgoers were met with flimsy tents, boxed lunches, near-total disorganization and long waits for flights to return to the mainland.
Just two days after McFarland, who pleaded guilty to two counts wire fraud in March, was arrested for running a fraudulent ticket-selling operation while he was out on bail, a docuseries on the event has been announced. Premiering on Hulu in 2019, the series is a collaboration between The Cinemart, Billboard, Hulu and Mic and will tell the story of the failed festival,...
Just two days after McFarland, who pleaded guilty to two counts wire fraud in March, was arrested for running a fraudulent ticket-selling operation while he was out on bail, a docuseries on the event has been announced. Premiering on Hulu in 2019, the series is a collaboration between The Cinemart, Billboard, Hulu and Mic and will tell the story of the failed festival,...
- 6/14/2018
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
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