CBS Corp. chairman-CEO Leslie Moonves has hired powerhouse litigator Daniel Petrocelli to represent him in CBS’s internal probe into sexual misconduct allegations reported late last month by the New Yorker. CBS declined to comment.
Ex-Staffer Files Harassment Suit Against WLNS
According to a lawsuit, former Assignment Editor Cheryl Fritze is suing Nexstar and its Lansing, Mich., CBS affiliate WLNS for sexual harassment.
The Daily Beast is working on a major story about sexual harassment and misconduct at NBC News, sources tell Mediaite. The story involves varying allegations against senior NBC News executives, and relates to alleged misconduct from years ago as well as more current allegations against network brass.
CBS News stated Tuesday in a story that the law firm of Proskauer Rose — which had been hired by the company in March to probe claims against TV anchor Rose made public in a Washington Post article — would fold its findings “into the efforts of two other law firms hired last week by the CBS board.” The Proskauer Rose report had been expected to be released this month.
Howard Stern castigated Leslie Moonves throughout his radio show Monday, recalling his run-ins with the CBS chief and gloating over the current investigation into him for alleged sexual harassment. “I know his true nature. He’s a shark,” Stern said on his SiriusXM radio show, adding that Moonves “had no humanity behind those shark eyes.”
Exclusives
From his $20-million-a-year perch, Matt Lauer turned NBC into his personal playground. Then, suddenly, he was gone. But Lauer’s axing has only raised unsettling questions about the network’s leadership, its boys-club culture, and how it covered the #MeToo moment.
The move follows publication of a New Yorker story that resulted in CBS hiring two outside law firms to investigate claims of sexual misconduct from several women spanning three decades at the company. While most of the article focused on CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, the article also contained allegations of inappropriate behavior by Fager.
“When he [Brad Kern] was not fired … it seemed to me that Les must be enabling this kind of behavior.”
CBS board members learned several months ago that the Los Angeles Police Department had investigated an alleged sexual assault by CBS Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Jeff Fager, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, stands accused of making unwanted advances and enabling harassment by others in positions of power at the newsmagazine, according to Ronan Farrow’s report in The New Yorker. Fager firmly denied the allegations. He seems determined to defend both his own reputation and the esteemed 60 Minutes brand. But the accusations of misconduct came as no surprise to 60 Minutes veterans, who had long suspected that stories might be coming.
In a second meeting in three days, CBS’s directors hired two separate law firms to investigate claims of sexual harassment against embattled Chairman-CEO Les Moonves but once again stopped short of putting him on leave while the probe takes place.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Hardwick’s career is getting back on track after a review of sexual assault allegations made by a former girlfriend. NBC said that Hardwick will serve […]
Los Angeles prosecutors said on Tuesday that they had declined to pursue three accusations of sexual abuse against CBS Corp Chief Executive Les Moonves dating back to the 1980s because the statute of limitations had expired.
Workplace culture at network news organizations has generally improved over the past several decades. But the vigilance of the #MeToo movement is taking no prisoners in a business that has long been a domain where men dominate the executive suites and female anchors, correspondents and even producers are often judged by their appearance.
The company’s CEO will remain while it conducts an investigation of sexual misconduct charges against him, it said Monday. On Friday a New Yorker article quoted six women who accused Moonves of sexual misconduct over a span of three decades.
CBS said its board of directors is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations facing Chairman-CEO Les Moonves. The board also postponed the annual shareholder meeting, which had been set for Aug. 10. The meeting had already been pushed back from May amid the legal war between CBS and shareholder National Amusements.
After a weekend of behind-the-scenes discussions, CBS board members on Monday are expected to decide how to respond to allegations that CEO Leslie Moonves sexually harassed women decades ago, according to several people familiar with the matter. The 14-member board already was planning to meet in a previously scheduled telephone conference call. But now, the group must decide how best to investigate explosive allegations that were contained in a story published by The New Yorker on Friday.
KFOR Anchor Resigns Amid Sexting Scandal
Over And Out For Michael Ferro At Tronc
Michael Ferro, the tech entrepreneur and would-be media mogul who was the largest shareholder in Tronc, the parent company of the Chicago Tribune, is leaving the newspaper business. According to a filing late Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Ferro is selling all of his stock in tronc to McCormick Media, a new ownership group reportedly tied to the family of the late Colonel Robert McCormick, longtime publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
Steve Harvey and his talk show producers are being accused of tarting up a hardworking single mom, who also happens to be a fitness model … according to a lawsuit. The “Steve Harvey” episode aired in April 2016, and the woman, Dominique Collier, says she showed up for the taping in a conservative outfit -— a long-sleeved blouse and pencil skirt — but producers put her in a halter top and form-fitting skirt … according to the suit.
Sorrell, who built WPP into a global brand during his 33 years at the helm, had been accused of misusing company assets. He has denied any wrongdoing. Sorrell resigned Saturday night as WPP announced that an investigation into the matter had concluded, with the firm saying only that “the allegation did not involve amounts that are material.”
Before the devastating allegations of sexual misconduct hit, Rose was a legendary man-about-town. Now, the former CBS and PBS star, one of TV’s most feted journalists, is hiding out on Long Island with occasional, mostly disastrous forays into Manhattan: “He’s focusing on trying to understand.”
CBS News has formed a “working group” to address complaints and suggestions about the company’s workplace environment, according to an email sent to employees on Tuesday. The move comes as network management is still facing scrutiny following the ousting of Charlie Rose in November.
Although Fox Broadcasting isn’t exactly known for leading the charge against sexual harassment, the company has gained an advantage in court against former executive Cliff Pozner in a case that could heighten the liability for those who engage in sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Suzie Hardy, Ryan Seacrest’s former E! News stylist is taking her allegations against her former boss to the police. Hardy has filed a report with Los Angeles police, and the LAPD is investigating her claims. Details aren’t known.
The chairman of IAC and husband of Diane von Furstenberg reflects on pornography, philanthropy and the end of Hollywood as we knew it.
The host, whose contract was suspended and has since been terminated, is suing the public broadcaster for dropping him. PBS has issued a response to his lawsuit — and it details witness accounts about the talk show host’s alleged sexual harassment and dalliances with subordinates.
WNYW Reporter’s Suit Against Fox Continues
A New York federal judge won’t yet dismiss a WNYW New York reporter’s claim that she was fired in retaliation for complaining about discrimination — and found it’s too early to tell whether it was irrelevant for her to reference other women’s allegations against Roger Ailes and Billl O’Reilly in her complaint.
On Monday, Ferro announced that he was retiring from the board of directors of Tronc, and that CEO Justin Dearborn would succeed him as chairman. Ferro will still be paid $5 million-per-year by Tronc through Dec. 31, 2020, to serve as a consultant. The action came after two women accused him of inappropriate advances.
Two new initiatives are working to correct shortcomings in newsroom cultures that are creating environments ripe for harassment and abuse: Press Forward and the Power Shift Project.
A group of more than 170 senior women ad agency execs including DDB’s Wendy Clark and The Martin Agency’s Kristen Cavallo has formed a partnership with women’s advocacy organization timesupnow.com.
Lynda Carter, who played the feminist superhero on TV, reveals the sexual harassment she endured, including on the Wonder Woman set.
