ViacomCBS said it has settled its dispute with former CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves and will not have to shell out a $120 million severance package that had been placed in a trust after his termination, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday.

Moonves stepped down in 2018 after allegations that he had sexually harassed several women at the company. 

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but according to a joint statement from ViacomCBS and Moonves, the costs of the settlement will be borne by a CBS contractor and Moonves will "contribute the entire settlement amount to various charities."

Back in 2018 CBS said that Moonves had agreed to donate about $20 million of his severance to several organizations supporting the elimination of sexual harassment in the workplace. 

The allegations were first outlined in a July 2018 piece in The New Yorker by Pulitzer Prize-winner Ronan Farrow, which said Moonves engaged in inappropriate behavior with several women including actress Illeana Douglas about 20 years ago. After that piece broke, several other women came forward, and in November of that year the New York Times reported that Moonves had paid a former accuser for years to keep her silence. 

CBS immediately conducted an investigation into those allegations and concluded that while harassment and retaliations weren’t “pervasive” at the broadcaster, the probe found other instances of unprofessional conduct and determined that the company’s policies did not do enough to prevent harassment and retaliation. 

Shortly after Moonves stepped down, CBS said it would not pay a $120 million severance package to the former executive because he was terminated for cause, pointing to the former executive's “willful and material misfeasance, violation of company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the company’s investigation. Mr. Moonves will not receive any severance payment from the Company.”

Moonves fought that claim and filed for arbitration on Jan. 16, 2019 to get back the award.  

In the Friday SEC filing, ViacomCBS said that the disputes between the company and Moonves have been resolved and that on May 14, the parties dismissed the arbitration proceeding, adding that the assets in the trust that held the $120 million severance package, “will revert to the company in their entirety.”

Former CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves has notified the company he intends to fight its board of directors’ decision last month to deny him his $120 million severance package, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“On January 16, 2019, Mr. Moonves notified the company of his election to demand binding arbitration with respect to this matter,” CBS said in the SEC filing. “The company does not intend to comment further on this matter during the pendency of the arbitration proceedings.”

Moonves stepped down as CBS chairman and CEO in September, after several allegations of sexual harassment were levied at the former chief. A report in the New Yorker detailed allegations that Moonves harassed six women about 20 years ago. In November, the New York Times reported that the former CBS chief had paid one of his accusers for years to keep her silence. Moonves has denied any wrongdoing.

CBS conducted its own investigation of the allegations and in December released a statement that based on its findings it had grounds to terminate Moonves and would deny him the severance package. CBS claimed that Moonves violated company policies, breached his employment contract and failed to cooperate fully with the investigation.

The next step will be to select a third party arbitrator from the American Arbitration Association. While CBS and Moonves could settle, the criticism concerning how the company has handled sexual harassment allegations in the past and the high-profile nature of the case make that option unlikely for the broadcaster. 

The CBS Board of Directors said Monday that after an extensive investigation, it has determined that there are grounds to terminate former chairman and CEO Les Moonves for cause, a move that erases a $120 million severance package for the executive who left under a torrent of sexual harassment allegations in September.

The Board dropped its bombshell on Monday night, adding that its grounds to terminate include Moonves' “willful and material misfeasance, violation of company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the company’s investigation. Mr. Moonves will not receive any severance payment from the Company.”

Moonves was first accused of sexually harassing six women in an extensively reported piece in the New Yorker by Pulitzer Prize-winner Ronan Farrow. In the July piece, Moonves was said to have engaged in inappropriate behavior, including unwanted kissing and touching, with those women -- including actress and writer Illeana Douglas -- about  20 years ago. 

CBS launched an immediate investigation into the allegations -- employing law firms Covington & Burling and Debevoise & Plimpton in August -- as well as looking into what some had called a culture of harassment at the company. 

Moonves denied the allegations and stepped down as chairman and CEO in September, with CBS pledging to donate $20 million of his exit package to charitable organizations. But in the wake of Moonves’ departure the allegations continued to pile up, with more and more women coming forward. In November, the New York Times reported that Moonves had paid one of his accusers for years to keep her silence. 

In its statement the board said its investigation concluded that while harassment and retaliations weren’t “pervasive” at CBS, the probe found other instances of unprofessional conduct and determined that the company’s policies did not do enough to prevent harassment and retaliation.

Related: 60 Minutes Boss Fager Leaving CBS News 

In addition, the board said the investigation found that resources devoted to CBS’ human resource function were “inadequate.” To help remedy that, the board said CBS has appointed a new Chief People Officer, is actively engaged in ways to enhance the HR function, and has retained outside experts to develop initiatives to promote a workplace culture of “dignity, transparency, respect and inclusion.”

“We would like to thank everyone who cooperated with the investigation and applaud CBS’ employees for remaining focused on their jobs during this very difficult time. We look forward to the people of CBS returning their full attention to the outstanding work that they do every single day,” the board said in its statement..

A day after the New York Times revealed CBS paid yet another hefty sexual harassment settlement, CBS said it as selected 18 organizations to receive the $20 million award that was part of its former chairman and CEO Les Moonves’ separation agreement.

The Times said Thursday (Dec. 13) that CBS paid a $9.5 million settlement to actress Eliza Dushku after it found she was subject to several instances of sexual harassment while on the set of weekly series “Bull” and had been wrongly terminated because she complained of the abuse. 

The $20 million award was deducted from Moonves’ separation package, a $120 million award that has come under fire as allegations that he had abused several women throughout his career in the TV business have piled up.

[embed]https://twitter.com/TIMESUPNOW/status/1073618341825138688[/embed]

According to CBS, the $20 million will go toward supporting the elimination sexual harassment in the workplace, with each organization representing a different critical approach, including efforts to change culture and improve gender equity in the workplace, train and educate employees, and provide victims with services and support.

The list of organizations to receive funds are:

- Catalyst

- Collaborative Fund for Women’s Safety and Dignity (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors)– re-granting

- Free the Bid

- Freedom Forum Institute – Power Shift Project

- Futures Without Violence

- Girls for Gender Equity / ‘me too.’ Movement

- International Women’s Media Foundation

- National Women’s Law Center

- New York Women’s Foundation – re-granting

- Press Forward

- Producers Guild of America Foundation

- RAINN

- STRIVE International

- Sundance Institute’s Momentum program

- TIME’S UP Entertainment

- TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund

- Women in Film Los Angeles

- Women’s Media Center

CBS will give a portion of the grant to two organizations, the Collaborative Fund for Women’s Safety and Dignity (through Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and the New York Women’s Foundation, in order to disburse smaller grants to additional organizations.

CBS worked with advisory firm RALLY, an issue-driven communications firm, to determine the criteria for the grants and develop a strategy that will support new and existing work. The resulting strategy takes three approaches to creating safer and more equitable workplaces: increasing the number of women in positions of power, promoting education and culture change, and supporting victims of harassment and assault.

Both the Collaborative Fund for Women’s Safety and Dignity and the New York Women’s Foundation will be announcing Request for Proposals (RFPs) for organizations to apply for additional funds. 

Former Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons has resigned as interim chairman of broadcaster CBS Corp., citing health reasons. Take-Two Interactive Software chief and CBS board member Strauss Zelnick will assume the role of interim chairman immediately.

Parsons, who retired from Time Warner in 2008, was named interim chairman of CBS in September, just weeks after a sexual harassment scandal rocked the entertainment giant and resulted in the departure of several executives, including chairman and CEO Les Moonves. Moonves has denied any wrongdoing.

Parsons was considered to be a calming influence on the board and has stepped in during sticky situations at other companies – he was named interim CEO of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers after owner Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team after making a series of racist remarks.

CBS named former chief operating officer Joseph Ianniello as interim CEO and has made other recent management changes, but is still searching for a permanent chief.

Parsons cited his health was the main reason for his decision to step down.

“As some of you know, when I agreed to join the board and serve as the interim chair, I was already dealing with a serious health challenge – multiple myeloma – but I felt that the situation was manageable,” Parsons said in a statement. “Unfortunately, unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges, and my doctors have advised that cutting back on my current commitments is essential to my overall recovery. I trust CBS’ distinguished Board, now led by Strauss Zelnick, as well as CBS’ strong management team led by Joe Ianniello, will continue to successfully guide this Company into its very bright future.”

Zelnick is a widely respected media industry leader who has held management roles in all forms of entertainment, including recorded music at BMG Entertainment, motion pictures and television programming at 20th Century Fox and international television distribution at Columbia Pictures. In 2001 he founded the media-focused private equity firm ZMC (Zelnick Media Capital), and he currently serves as chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive, one of the world’s largest interactive entertainment companies.

CBS has tapped former Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons to be its interim chairman, as the broadcaster searches for a replacement for ousted chairman and CEO Les Moonves and tries to recover from an embarrassing sexual harassment scandal.

Parsons, who was named Time Warner CEO in 2002 and became chairman in 2003, led the media giant through some of its roughest patches. Parsons was named to the CBS board of directors in the wake of the latest scandal, where Moonves was accused by several women of sexually harassing them over the course of his career. CBS has hired an independent investigator to look into the accusations. Former CBS chief operating officer Joe Ianiello was named interim CEO of the company after Moonves' departure. 

“Dick Parsons has a combination of deep industry knowledge and unmatched corporate and board experience,” said CBS’ Nominating and Governance Committee chair Candace Beinecke in a statement. “We are fortunate to have Dick in this leadership role.”

After retiring from Time Warner in 2008, Parsons has become the go-to executive to step in to lead companies through some tricky situations. Shortly after leaving the media giant Parsons was named chairman of Citibank, steering the financial services behemoth through the overall financial crisis until 2012. And in 2014, NBA commissioner Adam Silver tapped him as interim CEO of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers, after owner Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team after making a series of racist remarks. 

CBS also announced that Bruce Gordon and William Cohen, who have served on the board of directors since the broadcaster became a stand-alone public company in 2006, have decided to step down from their posts to focus on other personal and professional priorities.

“We have a distinguished and independent Board that is steadfast in its commitment to serve the best interests of all shareholders,” Parsons said in a statement. “I think I speak for all Board members when I say I look forward to learning more about CBS’ compelling opportunities and how we can help guide and support the Company’s growth.”

The months-long saga concerning the fate of CBS chair and CEO Les Moonves after claims he sexually harassed several women decades ago played out to its inevitable conclusion Sunday with his departure and a pledge by the company and Moonves himself to donate $20 million to the #MeToo movement.

Moonves’ departure is effective immediately. Long-time CBS chief executive Joseph Ianniello will replace him as president and acting CEO as the search for a permanent chief begins. Ianniello, who joined CBS in 1997, most recently served as chief operating officer and has long been Moonves’ choice as his replacement.

Moonves was first accused of sexually harassing six women in a New Yorker magazine piece in July, who said the former CBS chief forcibly kissed and touched them on several occasions over a period of decades, and when they rebuffed his advances he threatened to ruin their careers. Moonves admitted in July that he may have, several decades ago, made unwanted advances toward female associates, but denied ever tampering with their careers. While he apologized for the unwanted advances, he noted that he has always “abided by the principle that no means no” and never used his position to derail anyone’s career.

News of Moonves departure came about three hours after the New Yorker published a new piece on Sunday, where six additional women came out to say Moonves had sexually harassed or sexually assaulted them. 

Among the allegations were that Moonves had forced women to perform oral sex on him and that he exposed himself to them without their consent. Moonves denied the allegations, adding in a statement that he had a consensual sexual relationship with three of the women about 25 years ago before he came to CBS.

“In my 40 years of work, I have never before heard of such disturbing accusations,” Moonves said in his statement to the New Yorker. “I can only surmise they are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation, and my career. Anyone who knows me knows that the person described in this article is not me.”

But despite his denials, the latest New Yorker piece appears to be the final straw in what has been a stunning collapse for the CBS executive. Moonves has steered CBS to the top spot among broadcast networks over a 15-year span and as early as last year was considered to be practically untouchable. In the past two months, Moonves has been toppled from the broadcast mountain, and CBS’s stock has plunged as the network, a perennial overall ratings champ, has been thrust into uncertainty.

CBS initiated an internal investigation into the allegations after the first New Yorker piece came out in July and while that is still ongoing, reports said the company was working with Moonves to orchestrate his departure from the broadcaster. On Sunday, those efforts were finalized.

Related: Analyst: Moonves Exit, Viacom Combination Could Be in CBS Future 

As part of the deal, Moonves will receive no exit package until the completion of the internal investigation, and the company said it and Moonves will donate $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace. The donation, which will be made immediately, has been deducted from any severance benefits that may be due Moonves following the board’s ongoing independent investigation led by Covington & Burling and Debevoise & Plimpton. Moonves will not receive any severance benefits at this time (other than certain fully accrued and vested compensation and benefits), the company said, and  any future payments will depend on the outcome of the investigation. 

CBS and its largest shareholder National Amusements also tied up several loose ends that have hounded the companies for months. CBS agreed to drop a lawsuit that would have challenged NAI’s voting control of the broadcaster and NAI agreed not to push for a merger between CBS and NAI’s other media holding – Viacom – for at least two years.

CBS and NAI also agreed to name six new independent members to the broadcaster’s board of directors -- Candace Beinecke, Barbara Byrne, Brian Goldner, former Time Warner chairman Richard Parsons, Susan Schuman and Strauss Zelnick.

CBS’s new board will consist of 11 independent directors and 2 NAI-affiliated directors. In addition to lead independent director Bruce Gordon, William Cohen, Gary Countryman, Linda Griego and Martha Minow will remain on the board. Shari Redstone and Robert Klieger also will remain on the board as NAI’s representatives.

“CBS is an organization of talented and dedicated people who have created one of the most successful media companies in the world,” vice chair Shari Redstone said in a statement. “Today’s resolution will benefit all shareholders, allowing us to focus on the business of running CBS – and transforming it for the future. We are confident in Joe’s ability to serve as acting CEO and delighted to welcome our new directors, who bring valuable and diverse expertise and a strong commitment to corporate governance.”

A CBS shareholder has launched a class-action suit against the broadcaster tied to the sexual harassment scandal involving several top executives -- including chairman and CEO Les Moonves -- claiming the company knew enforcement of its employee conduct standards was inadequate years before the most recent claims came to light.

News of the suit was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter. 

In July, TheNew Yorker reported that several CBS executives had sexually harassed, abused and assaulted female employees at the network over a period of years. One of the allegations was brought by actress and producer Illeana Douglas, who claimed that several years ago Moonves terminated a development deal she had with the network after she rebuffed his advances. In a statement in the New Yorker article, Moonves said there may have been times “decades ago” when he may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances, but that he has always adhered to the principle that “no means no” and that he has never misused his position to “harm or hinder anyone’s career.” CBS said it is conducting an investigation into the allegations and has hired two outside law firms to lead the probe.

News of the allegations played havoc with CBS’ stock price -- it fell 6% after the New Yorker article broke on July 27 and has been down another 1% since that date. That decline in stock price has hit investors hard, the suit claims.

In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Aug. 27, CBS shareholder Gene Samit pointed to company proxy statements filed over the past four years where CBS outlines its employee conduct code. Samit, who is seeking other CBS shareholders who have bought stock since 2014 to join him, says CBS’s board of directors certified its commitment to a bias-free and harassment-free workplace as part of those filings, when it knew it wasn't providing a safe environment for all employees. 

In addition, Samit, who is seeking unspecified damages, claims that CBS, Moonves and chief operating officer Joseph Ianniello made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that executives, including Moonves, were engaging in widespread sexual harassment and that its enforcement policies to stop such action was inadequate.

“...The foregoing conduct, when revealed, would foreseeably subject CBS to heightened legal liability and impede the ability of key CBS personnel to execute the company’s business strategy," the suit states.

CBS declined to comment. 

In the wake of CBS’ board of directors’ ongoing investigation into the growing sexual harassment scandal surrounding its chairman and CEO Les Moonves, Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said it is likely the long-time media chief will exit, and that a once-shelved merger with corporate sister Viacom is back on the table.

CBS’ board said at a previously scheduled meeting Monday that it is in the process of selecting outside counsel to investigate the allegations against Moonves, but took no further action on the matter. Some observers had expected CBS would at least put Moonves on hiatus as the investigation continued.

The New Yorker article uncovered what it called a culture of harassment and abuse at the company over a period of decades. Six women came forward to accuse Moonves of forcibly kissing and touching them over a period of years. The piece also unearthed allegations that former CBS News chairman and current 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager inappropriately touched some female employees and allowed harassment to continue on his watch, which he denied in the piece. About 30 former and current employees have alleged various forms of harassment and assault at the hands of other male employees in positions of power, according to the piece.

In a note to clients, Wieser wrote that the New Yorker piece, past rumors and reporting and the apparent inability of the CBS board to “publicly investigate either issue in a more timely manner – suggest serious problems at the top of the company.

“The company will not be viewed by many key industry participants as taking workplace safety seriously without significant action, which we think the Board will realize has commercial consequences, if not legal and moral ones,” Wieser continued. “Consequently, it seems likely to us that CEO Les Moonves will be eventually removed from his role.”

CBS stock, which has been hammered in the days after the New York article surfaced July 27 – the stock lost about 11% of its value between July 27 and July 30 – was up 2% (97 cents) to $52.25 each in early trading Tuesday.

Wieser wasn’t alone. According to reports, Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz downgraded CBS to “market perform” from “outperform,” adding that Moonves should step down and immediately be replaced by current chief operating officer Joseph Ianniello. Ianniello was focus of a separate battle between Viacom and CBS vice chair Shari Redstone and Moonves. Moonves had handpicked the COO to be his successor, but Redstone wanted Viacom CEO Bob Bakish. Whether the connection to Moonves could taint Ianniello – against whom no accusations have been made – with the board, is a nagging question.

While the absence of Moonves, who has been the face of CBS and the catalyst for its growth over the past several years, will create a power vacuum and will at least have a short-term impact on the broadcaster, it is a needed step, Wieser noted. The bigger impact could be that without Moonves at the helm, the previously shelved combination with Viacom is now likely to occur.

Moonves had been a big opponent of the merger, which had been championed by  Redstone. After a public battle, Redstone pulled the merger off the table, as the entity that controls her shares in the companies – National Amusements – was pulled into a legal battle with CBS.

“Without Moonves at the helm, we think CBS will be less able to persuade investors that it is better off on its own,” Wieser wrote.

CBS said it is in the process of hiring an outside counsel to look into sexual harassment allegations against its current chair and CEO Les Moonves, and has decided to postpone its annual meeting of shareholders on Aug. 10 as its investigation continues.

Moonves was the subject of a detailed New Yorker magazine article into a culture of sexual harassment at CBS. Six women came forward accusing Moonves of forcibly kissing or touching them over the past two decades. The article also depicts a culture of harassment at the network, citing 30 former and current employees who have alleged various forms of harassment and assault at the hands of other male employees in positions of power.

In a statement, CBS said no other action was taken on the matter at the board meeting today. CBS will announce a new date for the shareholders meeting at a later time.

CBS stock, down about 6% when the New Yorker article was published online Friday, dipped another 5% on Monday, closing at $51.28 per share. 

CBS stock plunged Friday after the company said it would open an investigation into claims in a New Yorker magazine article that its CEO Les Moonves engaged in inappropriate behavior with some employees over a period of decades.

The article, written by Ronan Farrow – who won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for public service for exposing allegations of sexual harassment and assault by former Miramax CEO Harvey Weinstein – is said to include allegations of unwanted kissing and touching that occurred 20 years ago, as well as many that occurred more recently. 

According to the article, six women have come forward, including actress and writer Illeana Douglas, who said she was sexually assaulted and then fired because she did not consent to Moonves's advances, and writer Janet Jones, who said Moonves forcibly kissed her during a business meeting. The article also depicts a culture of harassment at the network, citing 30 former and current employees who have alleged various forms of harassment and assault at the hands of other male employees in positions of power.

Moonves, according to a statement he issued to The New Yorker for the piece, admitted some mistakes, but denied misusing his position.

“Throughout my time at CBS, we have promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees, and have consistently found success elevating women to top executive positions across our company," Moonves said in a statement to The New Yorker. "I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respected—and abided by the principle—that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career. This is a time when we all are appropriately focused on how we help improve our society, and we at CBS are committed to being part of the solution.”

The Hollywood Reporter first broke news of the New Yorker article, which prompted the CBS response. It had been rumored for months that Farrow was working on an expose of CBS corporate culture.  

CBS stock was down as much as 7.5% ($4.32 each) to $53.21 per share in early trading Friday. The stock began to claw back in later trading – it closed at $54.01 (down 6%, or $3.52 each) on July 27.

In a statement, CBS said it would investigate the claims.

“All allegations of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously,” CBS said in a statement. “The Independent Directors of CBS have committed to investigating claims that violate the company’s clear policies in that regard. Upon the conclusion of that investigation, which involves recently reported allegations that go back several decades, the board will promptly review the findings and take appropriate action.”

Moonves has been with CBS since 1995, becoming CEO in 2006 and was named chair in 2016. Through his leadership, CBS had a 15-year run as the most-watched broadcast network (a streak that was broken by NBC earlier this year), and has been a leader in extracting retransmission consent revenue from distributors.

Moonves has been locked in a battle with the broadcaster’s biggest shareholder – CBS vice chair Shari Redstone – over control of the company. Redstone had locked horns with Moonves over an attempt last year to recombine CBS with its former corporate sister Viacom – he was against it. While Redstone backed off on putting the two companies together, CBS sued National Amusements, the holding company for the Redstone family’s CBS and Viacom stock, in May to stop it from ousting board members or changing bylaws to push through its agenda. National Amusement counter-sued, claiming Moonves and CBS had no right to take away control. The trial over that matter is slated to begin in October.

In its statement, CBS acknowledged the “very public legal dispute.”

“While that litigation process continues, the CBS management team has the full support of the independent board members,” CBS continued. “Along with that team, we will continue to focus on creating value for our shareowners.”

When Vice Media founder Shane Smith launched pay TV channel Viceland in 2016, he told the world that he was going to teach stodgy, old content companies how to succeed in the new media space.

“Twelve months from now, we’ll be on the cover of Time magazine as the guys who brought millennials back to TV,” Smith told The Hollywood Reporter in February 2016, just days before it launched Viceland.

A year later, it looks like the brash media mogul is the one getting schooled. For starters, despite all of Smith’s chest-thumping, Viceland is struggling with low ratings — lower than documentaries on H2, the channel it replaced — after missing revenue targets by a wide margin last year.

The company is scrambling to deal with a string of sexual harassment allegations, which arose amid a testosterone-fueled culture, that rocked its executive suite after a blistering expose in The New York Times a few months ago. And hanging over the company since 2016 are reports that even the digital growth isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, as more than half of Vice.com’s web traffic was from partner sites, a common-but-frowned-upon practice.

And there has been no shortage of drama in the C-suite: Vice Media suspended former co-president Andrew Creighton and fired chief digital officer Mike Germano, both named in the Times article, after the story broke. Smith, a swaggering CEO who peppers his conversations with F-bombs and bravado, will step down from that role to focus on strategy as executive chair.

Vice Media contends it is a company in transition, and observers point to a two-year-old quote from Smith where he said he would eventually hire a CEO so he could focus on deals and strategy. To them, he’s is making good on a promise. But there is no question Vice executives are finding the TV business a lot harder than they initially thought.

And some believe major investors, including A+E Networks, The Walt Disney Co. and private-equity firm TPG, are now concerned that the heady $5.7 billion valuation — nearly twice the market capitalization of AMC Networks, home of The Walking Dead — is suddenly starting to feel tentative and inflated, and want to avoid a freefall.

Thus, an old-school cable veteran, and a woman, has been named to lead the charge. A+E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc, whose employment deal with the programmer was scheduled to expire at the end of the year, agreed March 13 to become Vice Media CEO.

Veteran Presence Steps In
Dubuc was a candidate for the top spot at Amazon Studios, a position that was formerly held by Roy Price, who was fired after several sexual harassment allegations came to light. That job went to NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke last month.

Despite its edgy programming (F*ck, That’s Delicious!) and anti-authoritarian bent, Vice is really chasing a universal goal in the TV business — reach a broader audience with fresh programming at a time when traditional TV ratings are down across the board and cable operators are losing subscribers.

Related: Cord-Cutters Not Returning to Pay TV, TiVo Study Finds

Dubuc’s appointment, at first glance, appears to solve many of Vice’s immediate ills. As a board member, she is well-versed in the inner workings of the company. As an executive who has championed diversity in the workplace and in society over the years, she gives the company immediate credibility and will have a zero-tolerance attitude toward harassment.

Dubuc is also a seasoned TV executive schooled in navigating the fickle environment of media and has a proven track record. She joined A+E Networks in 1999 as director of historical programming for The History Channel and steadily moved up the ranks, becoming A+E’s CEO in 2013.

On her watch, A+E has added scripted and reality programming hits, expanded its digital content reach and created A+E Ventures to invest in early-stage technology and content companies.

It was Dubuc who spearheaded A+E’s $250 million investment in Vice Media, leading to the creation of Viceland, formerly History International (H2). Dubuc brings a proven TV business acumen to her new role, but also sends a signal that the old days are over.

“I believe they have people who have been involved running networks,” Pivotal Research Group senior research analyst–advertising Brian Wieser said. “I think the problem was they needed a change at the top.”

Smith started Vice as a punk-rock fanzine in Montreal in the 1990s, growing it into a print, digital and video content behemoth with about 3,000 employees just two decades later. Vice Media also has a popular daily news show on HBO, Vice News.

From ’Zine to Empire
Besides the publishing business — it still cranks out magazines, as well as popular online news and culture websites — Vice Media has spread its tentacles into music with in-house record label Vice Music; digital and mobile advertising through Virtue Worldwide; and television and feature film production via Vice Films.

An aging rocker who two years ago bragged about dropping $300,000 while with friends at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Smith has toned down his shtick considerably since his early days. He got married to a former Vice employee in 2009, had kids, bought a 14,000-square-foot, 12-bedroom mansion in Santa Monica, Calif., and apologized publicly for the company’s past “boys club” atmosphere.

But with women’s rights in the workplace finally gaining traction in the media business in the wake of the collapse of The Weinstein Co. and the downfall of media mogul Harvey Weinstein and others, the time was ripe for a regime change.

Still, in a statement announcing Dubuc’s appointment, the ever-brash Smith didn’t disappoint fans of his irreverent style. “We are a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, and we are going to take all your money,” he said of Dubuc and himself.

Then he quickly shifted to mimic the stodgy media executives he so gleefully ridiculed in the early days of Vice’s ascendance as the arbiter of millennial taste in news and entertainment. “As we go forward, Vice needs a best-in-class management team to harness all of this growth and control our destiny, whether it be staying independent, strategically partnering with someone or going public,” Smith said.

It’s possible more old-school media types are destined for the Vice payroll, and perhaps the company is tidying up for a sale or an initial public offering. But while IPOs and selling the company were both considered to be strong options just a few years ago — Disney was long speculated to be a buyer and talk of a public offering is always a hot topic — that has cooled considerably.

Disney appears to have its hands full at the moment with its pending $66.1 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox assets. And Viceland’s struggles have caused some to believe an IPO is on hold for at least this year.

“I can’t imagine how they possibly could anytime soon,” Wieser said of a sale or an IPO, adding that the cultural issues are likely the top priority.

That’s a big departure from less than a year ago, when private-equity player TPG Capital made a $450 million investment for an 8% stake in Vice, pushing its valuation to $5.7 billion.

At that current level, Vice Media is worth nearly twice as much AMC Networks (with a market cap of $3.1 billion), home of the most-watched show on ad-supported pay TV, The Walking Dead. And its market cap is more than three times higher than the next millennial-focused digital darling, BuzzFeed, valued at about $1.7 billion.

But in a short time, Vice has slipped from new media standard-bearer to a company struggling to hold its place in the ever-shifting content sands. Vice missed its 2017 revenue target by $100 million, due mostly to Viceland, and is being pressured by its investors to turn a profit in 2018, according to a February report in The Wall Street Journal.

People familiar with the channel have countered that it is extremely rare for a two-year-old network to turn a profit, adding that while Viceland fell short of revenue targets, the shortfall was a fraction of the Journal’s $100 million estimate. They said overall revenue at Vice Media was up by double-digit percentages in 2017 and that comparing Viceland, which is available in about 70 million homes, to fully distributed networks is unfair. A better comparison is with networks such as ESPNU, SundanceTV or Cooking Channel, all of which had lower ratings than Viceland, they added.

Still, according to industry researcher Kagan, a unit of S&P Global, Viceland gets about 6 cents per subscriber per month in affiliate fees, about the same as it did when it was A+E’s H2 channel. But even with a younger audience, the channel has fallen short in terms of advertising.

Kagan estimated that net advertising revenue at the channel plunged from $60.9 million at the end of 2015, when it was still H2, to $32.4 million at the end of 2016. That figure was more than halved to $14.3 million in 2017 as low ratings decimated sales; it should rise slightly to $18.1 million in 2018.

Kagan analyst Derek Baine estimates Viceland posted negative cash flow of $16 million for 2017 and will post a similar number for 2018. By comparison, H2 generated $9 million in positive cash flow in 2016 for A+E Networks.

“Viceland is not doing very well,” Baine said.

Viceland counters that although it delivers only 60% of the primetime impressions that H2 did in its target demo of adults 18 to 49 (2017 vs. 2015), it has improved its appeal with attractive advertising targets. Viceland’s audience has higher income, more education and is younger and more multicultural than H2 viewers were.

For ad buyers, Viceland has been a mixed bag.

“Generally speaking, they’ve skewed more male and younger than general TV, so it’s a success in that regard,” Horizon Media co-chief investment officer David Campanelli said. “But while the skew is generally on target, the ratings are lower than most have hoped.”

With Viceland’s ad load, clients are encouraged to use more branded content to reach consumers, similar to how Vice uses branded content online. “We have done some good branded content with them,” Campanelli said. “They have great production capabilities in-house, so it is very turnkey.”

The average age of a Viceland viewer is around 40 years old — compared with 57 for H2 — but that skews even younger for premiere airings of original shows and for different platforms. In some cases, the average age falls to the mid 30s or high 20s.

Viceland has been growing and adding sponsors, A+E Networks executive vice president for advertising Peter Olsen said. “I think the acceptance of the network is growing,” he said. “Our advertising is up, with 180 clients on board now, which is good.”

Viceland is one of the cable networks with the fewest ads, Olsen noted, at just eight minutes per hour — about half the amount of other channels. That low commercial load keeps viewers engaged.

“It’s the best network of all for retention through breaks, engagement through breaks,” he said, citing network research. “That’s pretty encouraging.”

Playing a Long Game
“For a network in 70 million homes, they’re doing decent ratings numbers, the revenue stream is predictable, and they’ve increased the client base,” said one person familiar with the company who asked not to be named. “It’s a long game and they’re still only two years in.”

According to media reports, Viceland drew an average primetime rating of 0.1 from Sept. 25 through Feb. 4, or about 106,000 viewers. That’s up about 10.4% from last year and in line with such networks as Smithsonian Channel, Azteca America and GAC.

It’s not uncommon for new networks to take some time to find their footing. Ratings for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network were dismal early on compared with Discovery Health, which it replaced in 2011.

Wieser said he can’t think of any network that became a hit from the start. And in today’s climate, with distributors and programmers looking to reduce the number of channels they offer, it’s even more unlikely.

Viceland’s attraction is its mixture of shows with edgier titles like F*ck That’s Delicious (chronicling the gastronomic adventures of rapper Action Bronson) and Slutever (where sex writer Karley Sciortino explores female sexuality), to sponsored shows like Beerland (bankrolled by Anheuser-Busch InBev and featuring Meg Gill, founder of its craft beer brand Golden Road Brewing, as she travels the country meeting home brewers) to shows in off-network syndication like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Vice also has managed to attract a few Emmy nominations for Gaycation, a documentary highlighting LGBTQ cultures around the world, hosted by actor Ellen Page and producer Ian Daniel, and for the Gloria Steinem-hosted Woman.

But to attract ratings, the network may have to fall back on a tried and true TV tenet: More money equals more quality content.

Viceland is spending about the same on programming as its H2 predecessor did, according to Kagan — $72.4 million on original and acquired programming in 2016, versus $69.4 million for H2 in 2015. Kagan also estimated that programming spend will grow to $83 million by the end of 2018.

Wieser said Viceland’s success or failure may finally rely on how much of a commitment Vice Media is willing to make to programming. And that will depend on how much it is able to fund the business.

Vice has already raised more than $1 billion from investors like Disney, A+E Networks, TPG Capital and 21st Century Fox. Now that it is unlikely to be raising more capital in the near term, it is forced to show investors it can fund the business on its own.

Dubuc has had experience turning networks around. When she took the helm of History in 2007, she took what was then a documentary-heavy network and spiced it up with reality programming such as Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men, Swamp People and Pawn Stars, vaulting it from No. 11 among viewers aged 25-54 to No. 4. At A&E, Dubuc launched Duck Dynasty, which outpaced Fox’s American Idol in its heyday, and brought scripted hits like Bates Motel to the lineup. Viceland and its investors are hoping she can keep that streak intact.

“If you’re Vice and you invested $100 million in programming, you would get some viewership but not a lot,” Wieser said. “If you spend $1 billion to support Viceland, you’d have a business. It might lose money, but it would be a business.”

Nancy Dubuc, stepping down as CEO of A+E Networks, is becoming CEO of Vice Media, succeeding founder Shane Smith.

Smith will become executive chairman of Vice, which has been challenged by disappointing revenue growth and accusations that women who work there have been subject to sexual harassment.

Under Dubuc, A+E was one of a handful of traditional media companies that invested in Vice. A+E also formed a joint venture with Vice to create the Viceland cable network, which is aimed at younger viewers.

Related: Nancy Dubuc to Leave A+E Networks

"Shane and the team at Vice have done what all of us aspire to do - build a brand and make content that people really care about,” said Dubuc. "Vice speaks to a generation that defines today’s cultural conversation, and the opportunity to partner with all of the incredibly creative people across the entire company was one of those rare moments in a career.”

Dubuc had been a candidate to run Amazon Studios, succeeding Roy Price, who departed amid sexual harassment claims.

She was also negotiating a new contract with A+E’s owners, Hearst and the Walt Disney Co., and those talks broke down.

Smith said that in his new role he would focus on strategic deals and content development.

Dubuc gives Vice an experienced chief executive with a proven record of running a media company and producing and distributing programming.

“Why Nancy Dubuc? Simply put, because rarely in business do you get to work in a perfect partnership,” said Smith.

“First off, she is better than me at everything," he added. "Second, it allows me to move to executive chairman, where I can concentrate on the only things that I am good at - content and deals. Thirdly, as we go forward Vice needs a best-in-class management team to harness all of this growth and control our own destiny, whether it be staying independent, strategically partnering with someone or going public.,” Smith added. “Lastly, I get to work with one of my best friends and media heroes. We are a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, and we are going to take all your money.”

Here is a memo Smith sent to Vice staffers:

As many of you have read, I have been in discussions with my friend, my partner, and board member Nancy Dubuc, to join the VICE family and become my successor as CEO.

While we tried our damnedest to have everything signed, sealed and delivered before sharing it with you and with the rest of the world, we seemingly can’t take a crap in this town without it leaking to the press.
Of course, as the bellwether for the modern media age, we should be no stranger to the rumors and speculation.

Today we put this speculation to rest and turn our focus toward executing our growth plans to maintain our hegemonic place atop the new media landscape which, in turn, will give us the ability to control our own destiny.

As founders, we take pride in the fact that we built an institution with some level of permanence, and while VICE has a strong foundation for the future, we realize that we need help for the next phase of our growth. We need to surround ourselves with the right people so our company, and our thousands of employees globally, can flourish.

In looking for a professional CEO, we are in need of one who can master; the content world, the digital world, the business world, and who is at the same time an operator extraordinaire. These people are obviously few and far between, but I believe we have found the absolute best in class with Nancy.

Nancy and I have spent much time deliberating on the best way for us to partner up in a shared mission of maximizing the great potential this company holds. She believes in VICE, she believes in our mission, and she believes in all of you.

Nancy has clearly proven herself with her stewardship of A&E Networks. As a partner, she’s helped grow VICELAND internationally and into the second fastest growing network in all of US cable among our audience.

Since joining our board, Nancy has been a trusted confidante whose every recommendation is driven by making the best programming possible. She has the rare combination of business and content chops, and an unparalleled record in running the daily operations of a sprawling global media company like our own.

A lot of people have been asking me what this means for me personally. Well, I have always said that I am good at two things, 1) creating content and 2) making deals, so that’s what I’m going to do. I will focus my energy on raising the bar for our content, and will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board.

Again, as I always say “I’Union fait la Force” or “together we are stronger.” This marks a new period in VICE’s history that will make us infinitely stronger. Nancy will run the company day to day from New York and we will work lock step with our partners, management, employees and board in making sure that VICE maintains its position as the leader of new media, and delivers on its commitment to 50/50 by 2020 as we work to become the most progressive workplace in the world.

This Friday we will be hosting a town hall in Brooklyn to welcome Nancy and introduce her to all of you. I hope that you will welcome her to the company with the same enthusiasm and open arms that I have.

Love S

Amazon confirmed Thursday (Feb. 15) that Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor will not return for the show’s fifth season in light of sexual harassment allegations, according to published reports.

Tambor, who won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of transgender character Maura Plefferman, was accused last November of sexual harassment by members of the Transparent team.

RELATED: Who's Next? Harrassment Charges Roil TV 

Amazon said Thursday that after an internal investigation of the matter, it decided to cut ties with the veteran actor as it moves forward with a fifth season of the show, according to several published reports.

In November Tambor told Deadlinethat he could not return to the show given its “politicized atmosphere.”

Tambor joins a list of high-profile actors, anchors, entertainers and execs who have been dismissed from shows due to sexual harassment allegations, including Kevin Spacey (Netflix's House of Cards), Matt Laurer (NBC's Today) and Louis C.K. (FX's Louie).

We stood near 66th Street at Central Park West in Manhattan, thousands of us, behind the police barricades, waiting. The first-anniversary NYC Women’s March crowd would reportedly hit 200,000, but many of us — too far away from the speeches, outcries, slogans and finally, the start of the marching — stood and waited for over two hours, patient and hopeful.

Then, finally, at the first real signs of restlessness on this unseasonably warm day: movement. It was slow at the beginning, like baby steps. The shouting got loudest as we passed cameras, then monitors, then Trump-branded hotels. The placard signs were winning: “Men of Quality Don’t Fear Equality,” “Girls With Dreams Become Women With Vision,” “Get Your Tiny Hands Off Mother Earth,” “The Fem-Pire Strikes Back,” and a personal favorite, “UGH Where Do I Even Start.” And then, after a turn at 59th Street and Columbus Circle, the crowd widened and we were off, moving quickly, walking 20 more blocks with a sense of exhausted relief and accomplishment, and a hope that it would contribute to positive change.

The pace of that day, in fact, seemed to mirror that of this current moment in the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. Last October wasn’t a week old when Harvey Weinstein turned from producer to pariah, and ever since, weekly revelations have drawn ire and more banishments in film and television — perhaps most notably on TV, once-invincible morning host Matt Lauer of Today. But real progress has proven slow, as patience battles restlessness.

Read More:Some On-the-Job Gender Training | With #MeToo, TV Hits the ‘Reset Button’

That pace is fine for history; social movements move slowly and broadly in a host of directions and take years, even decades, to unfold. What’s unique here and now is that this current women’s movement is playing out on the most relentlessly and constantly examined canvas in modern history; namely, the digital, multiplatform, obsessive 24-hour news cycle. And, as we’ve already witnessed, there’s no way to keep that impatient, ratings-hungry backdrop from reshaping what will be an historic, evolving narrative — especially given that the media itself is among the industries being examined.

The excessive punditry makes it difficult to parse what it all means going forward after a week that saw one woman’s intimately reported, aggressive dating encounter with Master of None star/co-creator Aziz Ansari balanced against Today, one of TV’s most popular shows, naming its first-ever female executive producer, Libby Leist. One thing’s for certain: It will be a challenge to make the right kind of continued progress while separating conversation from noise.

“The complexity of the topic itself is in part due to the fact that there’s never any pause in the cycle of reaction,” Isra Ali, clinical assistant professor in the department of media culture and communications at New York University, said. “There tends to be a trajectory of something reported, like with Aziz Ansari, and then immediate reaction online and then reactions of news reporting reacting not on just the event but also in reaction to the reaction. The question becomes, does it ever settle or is it just a continual cycle?”

A Maddening Pace
Also muddying the meaning in the movement are the competing narratives. One can argue that this current push for rights was born during the last presidential campaign and saw its first symbolic heights in the first Women’s March, with attendance that — White House reports aside — dwarfed the inauguration crowds. In the months since, the general goals have been about protecting reproductive rights and health care, putting more women in Congress and trying to climb back toward a balance of power lost when the electoral numbers tipped to Donald Trump.

But the goals widened in the months since the Weinstein revelations ripped the Band-Aid off the unattended wounds of Hollywood, leading to a re-examination of the American workplace and, in fact, culture itself. Questions of respect, disparity in pay and unfair hiring practices — matters that haven’t been “questions” for women for decades — received fresh consideration. And, thankfully, #MeToo, and its attendant call for an end to sexual assault, discrimination and harassment, saw a resurgence. What’s at play is how we as a culture define progress, and how one gets to it.

These questions now play out every moment in the media, courtesy of both news organizations and the social channels that have become bully pulpit forums. Revelations uncovered after months of dogged reporting share space with raw confessionals that go viral and are then fodder for mind-numbingly debated cable news topics.

So far, the change has come in individual gestures. Kevin Spacey, the Oscar and Emmy winner now regarded as a serial sexual predator based on multiple accusations, has lost his Netflix series House of Cards and was quite literally erased from the film All the Money in the World. Fellow bad actors Russell Simmons, Louis C.K., Lauer, CBS This Morning anchor Charlie Rose and others have each been professionally picked off; what remains is the development of some overall strategy that will make the content business, among others, adhere to ethical rules of sexuality and fairness.

“This moment has created this space for people to tell their stories but we’re only responding to these as individual stories rather than saying this is much bigger than that,” Ann Russo, professor of women and gender studies and director of the women’s center at DePaul University, said. “Without critical social analysis, this stays at this individual level versus what to do to change society. That’s what I’m wondering: Is this a moment or a movement?”

Progress Report
The disparity in the ways media has covered progress and hysteria were on display both at the Today show and in the coverage of Ansari. From that day in late November, when Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb announced Lauer’s dismissal from Today, the show has seemingly run a two-prong approach to the issue: execs keeping a wary eye on public reaction and the ratings of Guthrie and Kotb, and having the co-anchors report on Lauer with only the necessary probing, while offering general coverage of the state of sexual harassment.

The new arrangement worked: On Jan. 2, Kotb was named official co-anchor of one of the most powerful, popular shows on television. And in a nod to this new normal, longtime executive producer of the show, and Lauer favorite, Don Nash, announced his departure; he was replaced by Libby Leist, a senior producer on Today, now the first woman to hold this exalted place in the business. Ad revenue at the show fell in December 24% year-over-year, but viewers are pleased with the pairing.

How this will change the show, and the industry, or whether this becomes simply another individual story, remains to be seen.

“When people say, we need to get more women in power and office, that doesn’t necessarily change the culture or our underlying structure,” Russo said. “It could make a difference but it also depends on what the [Today] show itself allows for. Media depends on making money. They’re not going to allow a lot of critical analysis of pervasive sexual issues. Some of these moves are good but it’s about having a bigger commitment than these symbolic gestures, especially since those gestures might deflect people’s attention and make them think, ‘Oh, everything’s OK.’ ”

That raw feelings remain pervasive, and divisive, has been obvious, and nowhere more so than in the case of Ansari, and “Grace,” the woman whose graphic account of their aggressive sexual encounter remains a focal point of discussion. Ansari, in some circles, is now regarded as disingenuous and hypocritical, a seeming feminist who sported a Time’s Up button during the Golden Globes, and whose 2015 book is titled, Modern Romance: An Investigation.

Date With Destiny
Others, however, angrily suggest Grace’s story reads like date porn, detailing an encounter that could have been avoided — or, at least, not reported on with such vigor and, in some views, vengeance. Ansari is well-liked and respected, and the concern is that Netflix — much as NBC did — will wait out the public opinion, and then decide whether or not he deserves to be heaped in with the likes of Spacey and Lauer for what is acknowledged to be less of an offense.

What’s concerning, too, is the part the media is playing in moving this narrative forward, even influencing it. Sources on polar opposites of the cultural agenda — Fox News Channel on one hand, The New York Times and The Atlantic on the other — lined up to delegitimize what felt, to them, like an attempt by the writer of Grace’s story to undercut the entire women’s movement with the account.

Fox News’s Tucker Carlson wondered if the movement is now hurting whom it meant to help; Ashleigh Banfield on HLN argued that Grace had little more than a bad date that she’s now elevated into a weapon in the greater narrative. “The #MeToo movement has righted a lot of wrongs and … [you] chiseled away at that powerful movement with your public accusation,” she said.

Samantha Bee took on the issue on Full Frontal, offering a “#sorrynotsorry” rebuttal, saying, in part, “a lot of people are worried about Aziz [Ansari]’s career — which no one is trying to end because we know the difference between a rapist, a workplace harasser and an Aziz Ansari. That doesn’t mean we have to be happy about any of them.”

Ali suggested that beyond the bitter recrimination, the talk is good. “There are levels,” she said, referring to the acknowledged difference between Ansari and, say, Louis C.K. and Weinstein. “It’s good to see there is a scale; when people say the movement has made things very black and white, that’s actually not the case. … It may seem like a witch hunt with immediate negative consequences but I do think there’s room for a little bit more subtlety.”

It’s that attempt to make reasonable decisions about something as unreasonable as sexual discrimination that — once the media noise dies down — could ultimately shape this movement into something extraordinarily powerful. Swifter, more historic movement will come about, Russo said, if these reported events “become less of a spectacle and more something we’re concerned about.”

It’s an opinion voiced with stunning validity by Ann Curry, whose career as a Today co-anchor was arguably cut short in part due to Lauer’s influence. “We’re a long way from fixing the problem; it’s more than a conversation,” she told Stephen Colbert during a recent visit to The Late Show. “It’s about action. It’s about not just telling people they can’t do certain things, it’s about changing the dynamic and the power balance within companies so that women are not seen as people who can’t rise to the top. Once we figure that out, we might have a chance to figure [it all] out.”

Amidst the wave of stories behind the #MeToo movement, most empathetic, supportive men are trying to find meaning in this watershed moment, including the silent majority who know appropriate respectful behavior in the workplace is a no-brainer. But as the issue becomes a galvanizing force in the culture, most of us could still learn a thing or two about the broader — and more subtle — forms of sexual discrimination. Those transgressions are often made in the language we use and the way we speak to one another, says veteran journalist and author Joanne Lipman. In a timely book being released this week, That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together (William Morrow), Lipman argued, “men can and must join the conversation” and she suggests things men can do in the workplace to bridge the gaping gender gap.

Related: #MeToo: A Moment or a Movement?|With #MeToo, TV Hits the ‘Reset Button’

In the well-researched book, Lipman, who served most recently as chief content officer of Gannett and editor in chief of USA Today, steers the conversation into the more relentless problems of language that permeate workplace culture from Hollywood to low-level, unglamorous jobs.

Lipman, former deputy managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, spoke with Mark Robichaux, editorial director of B&C and Multichannel News, about some of the most common communications challenges — and how to overcome them. Here’s an edited transcript.

MCN:Your timing for this book seems impeccable, although one assumes this has been on your mind for a while.
Joanne Lipman: This actually grew out of an article that I wrote in The Wall Street Journal more than three years ago out called, “Women at Work: A Guide for Men.” And the reason that I wrote the article, and subsequently the book, is because women talk about the issues that we face at work constantly — like being overlooked, or marginalized, or interrupted.

There are a lot of books and conferences for women, and so we talk to each other. What we don’t do is talk to men about these issues. And when women only talk to [each other], it’s only half of a conversation and it can at best solve only half of the problems. And really, we need men to join that conversation.

MCN:What kind of suggestions for closing the workplace gender gap do you offer in the book?
JL: Here’s an example of something that has happened to pretty much every woman: She has an idea in a meeting and it’s “crickets.” And then, five minutes later, a man repeats the exact same idea and he’s a genius. Everybody says, “Oh my gosh, Bob has a brilliant idea.”

So one of the things that I talk about is “amplification,” which is basically: A woman has an idea; somebody else in the room — could be a man or woman — repeats that idea and says, “Hey, Olivia had a great idea,” and gives her credit for it so that people understand it’s her idea.

MCN:How can women help each other in the office?
JL: Many women have trouble talking about their achievements in the workplace, in part because research shows it’s seen as bragging or being boastful.

So there’s a strategy called “brag buddies,” which is, I tell you my achievements, and you tell me your achievements. And each of us goes and brags about each other to the bosses. And it works particularly for women because the research shows that women are not as effective as men — even when they read from the same script — in, for example, asking for more money. But they are as effective or more when they advocate on behalf of others. So this brag buddies idea takes advantage of that because you’re advocating on behalf of somebody else.

MCN:How can a manager get a better handle on these issues?
JL: I think that at this point a lot of people understand that if you’re hiring you should have a diverse slate of candidates; it should not be all white men, for example. But what I’ve learned in reporting this was that that is not enough. You need to have a diverse slate of interviewers.

In other words, if you think you’ve got diverse candidates, but it’s a bunch of white men interviewing them, you’re still not going to come up with the best solution. This actually changed the way I manage. I brought that with me when I joined Gannett as chief content officer and editor in chief of USA Today. I brought with me that realization that when hiring people, make sure that I had a mixed group — ethnicity, gender, even age, just to get different perspectives. It was a highly useful tool that all managers should use.

MCN:Generally speaking, have men gotten better at picking up cues?
JL: It’s not just language — it’s how we think. There’s a lot of unconscious bias, which I talk about a lot in the book, which is the implicit bias in us. They are buried inside of us so deeply that we don’t even know they are there, and men have them as well as women. You can take a test on the internet called the implicit association test. I took the one for working women and I came out as moderately biased against working women. [Laughs.] So we all have these biases. The trick is to be more aware of them and overcome them.

The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements — which started as an opportunity for women to speak out against shocking revelations of abuse in the workforce by men in power — have evolved into a clear mandate for better treatment and opportunities for women in across all business sectors, especially in the entertainment industry.

Read More: #MeToo: A Moment or a Movement?|Some On-the-Job Gender Training

In just the last few weeks, women have achieved a number of milestones have in front of and behind the camera:

• NBC in mid-January hired Libby Leist as its executive producer at Today, making her the first woman to lead the broadcast network’s morning show, which was rocked in November by the firing of popular host Matt Lauer amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences nominated a record number of women actresses, writers, directors and producers for Oscars in 2018. The official tally of 40 nominated women — tying 2016’s record — includes the first woman to receive a nomination for cinematography, Rachel Morrison for Mudbound.

• And, in a touch of irony, Variety has reported that Maria Contreras-Sweet, the Small Business Administrator under President Barack Obama, has the inside track on purchasing the beleaguered The Weinstein Co. production outfit, once headed by Harvey Weinstein, ousted on accusations of sexual misconduct. If she succeeds in purchasing the company, it would be led by a board with a majority of women.

“We’re experiencing a sea change — women and minorities are not interested in putting up with being in second place anymore,” Step Up: High Water creator Holly Sorensen told Multichannel News. “It’s as combination of Hollywood being willing and seeing the value of these stories both creatively and financially.”

A Movement in the Spotlight
Indeed, the movement toward greater representation and respect for women in Hollywood has taken root on entertainment’s biggest stages, from Oprah Winfrey’s inspirational and impassioned speech supporting those who have bravely spoken up against sexual abuse at the recent Golden Globe Awards — along with the symbolic black-dress protest at the event — to the all-woman lineup of presenters at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Even the biannual Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour was heavily influenced by the #MeToo movement as female actresses, directors and writers spoke eloquently about the need for a change in how business is conducted, particularly in light of the fact that only 28% of the current producers, directors and editors of scripted shows are women, according to Lifetime executive vice president and head of programming Liz Gateley.

The #MeToo movement will only be effective if it creates permanent change, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, co-creator of Lifetime’s scripted series UnReal, said during the network’s TCA panel.

“What I want at the end of this ‘hashtag-MeToo’ moment is so much more than just a safe working environment for myself and for my colleagues,” she said. “ What I want is to get our shows on the air and to get rid of the assumption that female-created or run shows are going to be, quote-unquote, soft, and to get rid of the insistence that the female characters be, quote-unquote, likable … and also to get rid of the idea that you need a man above you or with you to run the show, because the woman is going to be too emotional or inexperienced, or any of the other stereotypes that are out there.”

Digital service YouTube has already committed to content that features women and minorities in front of and behind the camera, president Susanne Daniels told Multichannel News, with women producers behind YouTube Red’s original series Step Up!: High Water and Youth and Consequences. Programmers need to move away from hiring white men as showrunners if they are going to affect true change within the industry, she said.

“There are a lot more experienced white male directors in the category than are anyone else, so if you don’t make the effort it feels safer to go in that direction,” she said. “Working with someone else other than a white male director requires taking a chance and a risk because there aren’t as many options. The industry has to push from every end — we have to push from our end as executives, but we have to work with producers, studios and production teams that are willing to push from their end.”

Shows That Speak to the Moment
The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have also spurred several creative projects on various networks. PBS has commissioned #MeToo, Now What?, a five-part series that will look to take the discussion regarding sexual harassment in the workplace to another level and to examine how the movement can be used to effect positive and lasting change.

Starz last Friday (Jan. 26) debuted #Thatsharrasment, a David Schwimmer-produced series of short films depicting real-life cases of workplace sexual harassment created in conjunction with The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and the National Women’s Law Center.

On Tuesday (Jan. 30) E! will debut Citizen Rose, a documentary series that follows actress/producer Rose McGowan, whose initial accusations against Harvey Weinstein helped spark the #MeToo movement.

The movements signify an awakening to what’s been happening in the industry for some time, as well as the need to change the negative paradigm that exists in companies all over the world, McGowan said at E!’s TCA session. “I think it is a time of reckoning and a reset button,” McGowan said.

Added Citizen Rose executive producer Andrea Metz: “This is a global problem … what this message is about is that women don’t have to sit in silence any longer and sit in fear,” she said. “Rose has been brave enough to come forward, and I think we’re just going to see the messaging continue, and the conversation continue. And that’s what’s so important.”

Actress and activist Rose McGowan will star in Citizen Rose, which premieres on E! Jan. 30.

The five-part docuseries will start with a two-hour special on premiere night, with the remainder of the episodes airing in the spring.

McGowan was named one of Time Magazine’s People of the Year for 2017 for her work exposing sexual harassment, including the alleged misdeeds of Harvey Weinstein. E! calls it “a project that reflects a dramatically changing world." The network said the docu follows McGowan "as she readies her memoir/manifesto, Brave, for release."

Read More: MCN's coverage of the #MeToo movement

“Rose McGowan’s courage in addressing sexual abuse and harassment in Hollywood ignited a conversation and inspired other women to speak out against their abusers,” said Amy Introcaso-Davis, executive VP, development and production, E!. “We look forward to taking viewers inside this talented, dynamic woman’s world as the first allegations unfold and she becomes a leading voice in a critical cultural change.”

Citizen Rose is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions with Jonathan Murray, Gil Goldschein, Farnaz Farjam Chazan and Andrea Metz the executive producers. McGowan is executive producing as well.

"You are formally invited into my mind and world," McGowan said. "I am thrilled to partner with E! to amplify my message of bravery, art, joy and survival. As I ready my book, Brave, I realized I wanted to show how we can heal through art even when being hounded by evil. I want to have a conversation with everyone, and most especially, you, about looking at things differently and seeing beauty everywhere.”

The NFL Network said it suspended three former players who work at the channel as analysts because of allegations of sexual harassment.

The charges against Marshall Faulk, Heath Evans and Ike Taylor were made in a lawsuit by former NFL Network employee Jami Cantor. She had filed a suit against NFL Enterprises in October and an amendment to the suit on Monday.

Also named in the suit was former NFL executive Eric Weinberger, who has been suspended as president of the Bill Simmons Media Group.

The network had no comment beyond saying the players had been suspended pending an investigation into the allegations.

“These are very serious and disturbing allegations that we were made aware of today,” a spokesman for the Bill Simmons Media Group told The New York Times. “We are placing Eric on leave indefinitely until we have a better understanding of what transpired during his time at the N.F.L., and we will conduct our own internal investigation.”

Netflix has reached an agreement to make a sixth and final season of its hit House of Cards.

Production of the series was suspended after star Kevin Spacey was removed because of accusations of sexual harassment and other improper behavior.

Speaking at the UBS Media Conference in New York Monday, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said he could make an announcement about being able to bring the popular show to a conclusion.

Related: Who’s Next? Harassment Charges Roil TV

Sarandos said the season would consist of eight episodes and will premiere in 2018.

"We are excited about being able to bring some closure for the fans," Sarandos said.

He added that the agreement would benefit the 2,000 people in Baltimore who have worked on the show.

The sheer pace at which executives and on-air personalities have been forced in recent weeks to leave their positions in the entertainment industry and elsewhere over sexual harassment charges has been nothing short of jaw-dropping.

The responses from the harassers have ranged from heartfelt apologies to outright denials, but most offer tepid, conditional and carefully worded regrets — and then promptly unplug from social media.

As their legacies are quickly scrubbed from their companies, most people in the TV industry are wondering, “Who’s next?”

News divisions at several networks have already been shaken. NBC’s biggest on-air moneymaker, Matt Lauer, a Today anchor since 1997, was suddenly booted from the anchor chair after top NBC News executives said he engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior.” Moreover, “we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident,” NBC News president Andy Lack said.

Related: Lauer Apologizes

Rude Awakening for A.M. Shows
Lauer’s termination came eight days after another familiar figure in morning news, CBS This Morning anchor Charlie Rose, was let go by CBS News when he, too, was hit with sexual harassment charges, including allegations of groping, lewd conversations and exposing himself. Eight women told The Washington Post that Rose harassed them while they worked on the PBS series Charlie Rose. Rose was also a correspondent on 60 Minutes.

The dismissals of Lauer and Rose follow the ouster of Bill O’Reilly, Fox News Channel’s top-rated host, who was let go in April over sexual harassment claims, and who later struck a $32 million agreement with a longtime network analyst to settle new sexual harassment allegations.

Related: When News Anchors Become the Story

Morning news is a massive revenue driver for TV networks. And Lauer, who was reportedly paid $25 million per year, was a valuable player in the lucrative and battle-intense morning hours. The first two hours of Today — Lauer’s showcase — generated $509 million in revenue last year, according to Kantar Media. ABC’s Good Morning America earned $402 million and CBS This Morning did $177 million.

In November, Good Morning America won the total viewers race with an average of 4,361,000, ahead of Today’s 4,245,000 and CBS This Morning’s 3,682,000. In viewers 25-54, Today had 1,497,000, Good Morning America 1,367,000 and CBS This Morning 979,000.

The firing of Lauer has some rethinking Today’s move to let go fan favorite Ann Curry in 2012. Still, news analyst Andrew Tyndall does not see the latest morning news missteps causing a shakeup in the pecking order. “Viewers are married to the program, not the anchors,” he said. “Morning viewers are creatures of habit.”

He predicted the networks would replace Lauer and Rose with up-and-coming anchors, not superstars. “The networks have to get their budgets under control,” Tyndall said. “They’re expanding on digital and downsizing on broadcast.”

Related: Murdoch Says Fox Sent Strong Signal With Ailes, O'Reilly Dismissals

For news teams that must report without fear or favor, the dismissals of Rose and Lauer put their co-anchors in the peculiar position of reporting on a colleague. “Charlie does not get a pass here. He doesn’t get a pass from anyone in this room. We are all deeply affected,” said CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King.

Since The New York Times and The New Yorker published sexual harassment and assault allegations against Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in October, the list of men in top roles in entertainment, news and politics being called out has grown exponentially, with many women joining the #MeToo conversation on social media.

This past October, NBC News severed ties with political analyst and MSNBC contributor Mark Halperin after reports he sexually harassed women while working at ABC a decade earlier.

Allegations, Shockwaves Continue
The spate of sexual harassment allegations has also forced the cancellation or significantly altered the production of several high-profile television shows:

■ HBO last Thursday (Nov. 30) removed entrepreneur/producer and hip-hop executive Russell Simmons from its All Def Comedy standup comedy series after screenwriter Jenny Lumet accused Simmons of sexually assaulting her in 1991. Simmons and HBO have worked together since 1992, but in a statement the network said it has “no other projects with Russell Simmons.”

■ Netflix suspended production but later said it will move on with its Emmy Award-winning series House of Cards without Kevin Spacey, the drama’s main star, after the actor was fired amid allegations he initiated inappropriate sexual behavior on the set.

Related: Netflix to Make Sixth Season of 'House of Cards'

■ Amazon’s Transparent will also continue without two-time Emmy winner Jeffrey Tambor, who last month left the successful series after two members of the show’s staff accused him of sexual harassment.

■ FX last month terminated its long-running relationship with comedian Louis C.K. after he confirmed allegations by five women of inappropriate sexual contact. The actor served as executive producer on five series for FX, including the Emmy-winning Louie.

■ Warner Bros. Television Group suspended, then fired Supergirl and Flash showrunner Andrew Kreisberg after more than a dozen women made sexual harassment claims against him. He told Variety he has made comments on women’s appearances and clothes “but they were not sexualized.”

■ Pixar and Disney Animation chief John Lasseter took a six-month leave of absence after several women complained of unwanted touching.

■ Amazon Studios head Roy Price was suspended after a series producer said he sexually harassed her. He resigned from the company.

Fired Today anchor Matt Lauer finally weighed in a day after he was let go over allegations of sexual misconduct that multiplied throughout the day Wednesday (Nov. 29).

Related: When News Anchors Become the Story

While Lauer said some of the allegations were either not true or mischaracterized, he suggested some were not.

"There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions," Lauer said in a statement. "To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this, I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC."

Today included Lauer's statement Thursday (Nov. 30) in a story about the additional allegations that emerged Wednesday in articles in The New York Times and Variety.

"Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly," Lauer said.

"Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching, and I'm committed to beginning that effort; it is now my full time job," he added. "The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws. It's been humbling. I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I love. I thank them for their patience and grace."

Related: Trump Uses Lauer Exit to Target Comcast-NBCU Execs

Other reports Wednesday indicated that some of the women making the allegations had complained to NBC management previously without success, but Today reported that NBC's current network management said no one had been made aware of any allegations before Monday's detailed complaint by a colleague at NBC News regarding behavior that began during the coverage of the Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

Wednesday morning (Nov. 29) the world woke to the news that Today co-host Matt Lauer was fired due to alleged sexual misconduct in the workplace.

Lauer is the second prominent TV journalist in the past week to lose his job in the wake of alleged inappropriate behavior with female colleagues. Lauer's firing follows Charlie Rose's dismissal from CBS This Morning; PBS also dropped Rose's long-running interview series.

Update: Lauer Apologizes

Rose and Lauer are marquee names within the TV news business, and the allegations have the potential of chipping away at the credibility of the voices that deliver the daily news. What if Lauer and Rose represent just the tip of the iceberg among the national and local anchors, producers and execs the public counts on for TV news?

If the near daily allegations of sexual harassment, misconduct and assault that have emerged in the entertainment industry since the Harvey Weinstein story broke prove a harbinger of things to come in TV news, will viewer trust in the media — already under siege by President Trump’s cries of “fake news” — become part of the fallout?

By all accounts so far, the news organizations at NBC, CBS and PBS each reacted to the allegations against their anchors swiftly, and made clear their support of the women who brought the complaints. That level of response could be essential to maintaining the public's trust through what could be a rocky time to come in TV news.

Rep. John Conyers, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, is the latest powerful figure to be hit by a sexual misconduct scandal.

Buzzfeed obtained documentation of the settlement of a 2015 wrongful dismissal complaint against Conyers, the longest-serving member of the House.

The Hill has been abuzz over the past several days after it was revealed some unnamed members of Congress had had to settle such claims.

The Buzzfeed report includes documents appearing to confirm Conyers's settlement of multiple allegations that he made sexual advances toward female staffers in his office.

Conyers denied to the AP that he had settled any such claims.

But the push for an investigation had already begun, with support from his own party.

“The reports about Congressman Conyers are as serious as they get," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). "The Committee on Ethics should take up this matter immediately with a goal of promptly assessing the validity of the news account. This reported behavior cannot be tolerated in the House of Representatives or anywhere else.”

The Conyers story follows the admission by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) that he had acted inappropriately on a USO tour. An ethics investigation of that incident will be conducted, a move Franken has said he supports.

Related: Sen. Franken Calls for Ethics Investigation of Himself

Conyers is a familiar name in communications circles given that Judiciary shares oversight of the sector, including antitrust, copyright, privacy, cameras in the court and network neutrality issues.

FX Networks and FX Productions are ending their association with Louis C.K., who had produced several shows for FX.

The decision follows a report in The New York Times Thursday (Nov. 9) about five women who described sexual misconduct by the comedian. He confirmed in a statement Friday (Nov. 10) that the accounts given by the women were true. 

Related | broadcastingcable.com:Louis C.K. Confirms Charges in 'NYT' Report Are True

“We are cancelling the overall deal between FX Productions and his production company, Pig Newton," FX said in a statement Friday. "He will no longer serve as executive producer or receive compensation on any of the four shows we were producing with him – Better Things, Baskets, One Mississippi and The Cops.”

C.K. also had a hit with Louie.

“As far as we know, his behavior over the past eight years on all five series he has produced for FX Networks and/or FX Productions has been professional,” FX said. “However, now is not the time for him to make television shows. Now is the time for him to honestly address the women who have come forth to speak about their painful experiences, a process which he began today with his public statement.”

Related: FX Says It Has Received No Harassment Allegations Against Louis C.K

Added the network, “FX Networks and FX Productions remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure that all people work in an environment that is safe, respectful and fair, and we will continue our review of all of these productions to ensure that was and is the case.”

Following a report that comedian Louis C.K. had behaved improperly with a number of women, FX Networks, which has produced five shows with him, said it had received no allegations against him in the eight years they have worked together.

In a story posted online Thursday (Nov. 9) by The New York Times, five women accused Louis C.K. of sexual misconduct. Before the story was published, a premiere of his movie I Love You, Daddy was canceled and an appearance on CBS's The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on was postponed.

Afterward, HBO pulled Luckie Louie, a series Louis C.K. starred in, and his comedy specials from its video on demand service. He was also dropped from a live special, Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism, set to air Nov. 18

The accusations come at a time when charges of sexual harassment in the entertainment business are being levied at top executives, agents and actors. The wave began with accusations against producer Harvey Weinstein and has led to the departure of Amazon Studios chief Roy Price and the firing of Kevin Spacey from Netflix’s House of Cards.

Related: Weinstein TV Production Business Shaken Amid Harassment Scandal

FX, which airs Louis C.K.’s series Louie, issued a statement after the NYT story broke. It said: “We are obviously very troubled by the allegations about Louis C.K. published in The New York Times today. The network has received no allegations of misconduct by Louis C.K. related to any of our five shows produced together over the past eight years. FX Networks and FXP take all necessary actions to protect our employees and thoroughly investigate any allegations of misconduct within our workplace. That said, the matter is currently under review.”

There were no signs that FX had severed ties with Louis C.K., and the network would not comment beyond the statement.

Louis C.K. and his spokeman have declined to comment.

FX is part of 21st Century Fox, which also owns Fox News Channel.

Fox News chair Roger Ailes was removed from his post last year after allegations of sexual harassment. The company also took top-rated host Bill O’Reilly off the air after reports that he paid several women to settle harassment charges.

Related: James Murdoch Says Fox Sent Strong Signal With Ailes, O'Reilly Dismissals

21st Century Fox is reportedly under investigation for not properly reporting those payments to women.

An Amazon Studios TV project produced by The Weinstein Co., from David O. Russell and starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore, will not continue in light of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment imbroglio.

The project did not have a title and had not begun production. A statement from Russell, De Niro and Moore said the pricey series would not move forward elsewhere.

Related: Weinstein TV Production Business Shaken Amid Harassment Scandal

“We support Amazon’s decision as, in light of recent news and out of respect for all those affected, we have decided together that it is best to not move forward with this show,” the three said in the joint statement.

Weinstein was fired last week and, over the weekend, was ousted from the Motion Pictures Academy of Arts and Sciences. Separately, Amazon Studios chief Roy Price was suspended indefinitely last week over a sexual harassment allegation.

Not much is known about the Russell project, a drama. Amazon reportedly had signed on for two seasons at $160 million.

Amazon is moving forward with another Weinstein Co. TV project, The Romanoffs, without the involvement of Harvey Weinstein. Matthew Weiner is behind that drama.

Weinstein was cofounder of The Weinstein Co., with his brother Bob, and had served as co-chairman.