Billboard, Hollywood Reporter CEO Exits Amid Investigation

The CEO of the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, John Amato has stepped down. His departure comes amid both an investigation into his conduct and a reorganization at the media group, which also includes the Spin brand, after a merger with Valence Media earlier this year.

Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, the co-CEOs of Valence, announced Amato’s departure on Wednesday in a memo to staff, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A May story in The Daily Beast alleged that Amato squashed multiple stories of alleged sexual misconduct by his close friend, former Republic Records President Charlie Walk, across all of the media under his control. 

“Amato worked to derail at least three stories about Walk’s alleged misdeeds from being published,” according multiple sources. He reportedly insisted that he personally review stories about Walk, and then never published any of the articles.

Since then, The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group said that it was launching an investigation into whether Amato had abused or ignored official newsroom procedures. The findings of that probe have not been released.