Longtime CBS CEO and chairman Les Moonves is out, following publication of a new report from Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker, which details six new allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The new allegations claim that Moonves forced the women to perform oral sex on him, that he exposed himself without their consent, used physical violence and intimidation, and then retaliated after rebuffs, damaging their careers. Moonves had been negotiating terms of his departure, but pending an investigation, now might no longer receive his exit compensation or severance that could have totaled more than $120 million; CBS will donate $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace. COO Joseph Ianniello will serve as president and Acting CEO while the CBS board conducts a search for a successor.[Edmund Lee / The New York Times]
Recode Daily: CBS chief Les Moonves is out after more evidence of sexual impropriety surfaces
Plus, Mark Zuckerberg and Ben Silbermann don’t enjoy doing interviews, but here are two good ones; as electric scooter use rises, so do trips to the emergency room; some heroes wear plaid.
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Imran Khan, Snap’s chief strategy officer — and one of Evan Spiegel’s most powerful and longest-running lieutenents — is leaving. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Snap said Khan is going to “pursue other opportunities,” adding that “Khan has confirmed that this transition is not related to any disagreement with us on any matter relating to our accounting, strategy, management, operations, policies, or practices (financial or otherwise).” It’s yet another high-profile departure at Snap, which has struggled as Instagram has risen. [SEC Filing]
Mark Zuckerberg is not a morning person. He has a Peloton, of course, but doesn’t enjoy biking; he prefers board games on television. And he likes to win. The New Yorker gets a good look around the Facebook CEO’s full-time home in Palo Alto, which adds insightful color to its in-depth profile of the 35-year-old executive under pressure, as the metastasizing company he built is under investigation by the U.S. FBI, the SEC, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission, as well as by authorities abroad.[Evan Osnos / The New Yorker]
Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann does not enjoy being interviewed, either. And his company rejects Silicon Valley’s typical unicorn formula of moving fast, breaking things, chasing growth at all costs and bragging about every victory. Silbermann’s reserved approach has frustrated some investors and employees, but Pinterest is worth $12.3 billion and growing, recently surpassed 250 million monthly active users and is on track to top $700 million in revenue this year, a 50 percent increase over last year. If Pinterest continues its trajectory, it could change the narrative of what it takes to build a successful company at a time that the startup world is seeking new templates for leaders. [Erin Griffith / The New York Times]
Tim Armstrong convinced Verizon to bet $9 billion on internet companies over the last few years. Now he’s negotiating an exit from the combined companies, called Oath. Armstrong came to Verizon in 2015 following its acquisition of AOL and helped guide the wireless carrier’s purchase of Yahoo two years later, but he failed to get traction in using the merged company to challenge the digital advertising might of Google and Facebook. So where does this leave Oath? [Peter Kafka / Recode]
Apple wants major newspapers to join its subscription service, Texture, the magazine app Apple bought in March. Apple executives, led by content boss Eddy Cue, have reached out to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post about joining the app. Many observers believe that Apple would like to market a supersized subscription offering that bundles music, video and news together. [Peter Kafka / Recode]
Electric scooter use is rising in major cities. So are trips to the emergency room. Doctors in seven U.S. cities reported a spike in severe accidents after the devices launched on their streets; critics including doctors, former riders, scooter mechanics and personal injury lawyers say the devices may look like toys but inflict the same degree of harm as any other motorized vehicle on the road, only without having to comply with safety regulations. [Peter Holley / The Washington Post]
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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
