Media Moves

Google is looking to sell Zagat, the restaurant review guide it purchased in 2011 for $151 million, a Reuters report says. The asking price is not known. The acquisition of Zagat was overseen by former Google exec Marissa Mayer, who went on to become chief executive at Yahoo. As Google began to focus on drawing traffic to its Google+ social network, Zagat appeared to have been left behind. However, Google Maps still incorporates Zagat reviews into its restaurant listings, and a team at the company maintains Zagat.com. Talks have been held between Google and several undisclosed companies about the potential sale. The move comes as Google parent Alphabet is in the midst of shedding several non-core properties. In the past the company has agreed to sell robotics firms Boston Dynamics and Tokyo-based Schaft, and announced it would sell Terra Bella, a satellite imaging business it acquired in 2014.

Vice Media has suspended president Andrew Creighton and chief digital officer Mike Germano following a report in the Dec. 23 New York Times that brought allegations of sexual harassment at the media outlet to light. Creighton is said to have paid $135,000 to a former Vice employee after she claimed she was terminated for rejecting his suggestion of having a romantic relationship. Germano allegedly told a former employee at a 2012 holiday party that he had not wanted to hire her because he wanted to have sex with her; and, in 2014 he allegedly pulled an employee onto his lap. According to the Times report, hundreds of current and former employees cited an environment at the company in which harassment toward women was common. On Tuesday, Vice COO and CFO Sarah Broderick outlined a series of initiatives that she said were designed to “ensure all our employees feel respected and supported.” Those include the hiring of a new head of human resources, mandatory sexual harassment training for all employees and new community efforts, including the creation of affinity groups and mentoring.

Steve Chaggaris

Steve Chaggaris, political director at CBS News, has been fired in the wake of “inappropriate behavior” allegations. “In the last two weeks, accounts of inappropriate behavior by Steve Chaggaris were brought to our attention and were immediately investigated,” CBS said in a statement. "As a result, CBS News has severed ties with Mr. Chaggaris for violating company policy, effective immediately.” Chaggaris worked at CBS News from 1999 to 2010, returning in 2012 as senior political editor. He was promoted to political director in March 2017, and his responsibilities included supervising coverage of the Trump administration. CNN reported that CBS staffers were informed of Chaggaris’ departure Wednesday. The report also said that CBS has encouraged employees to disclose instances of harassment or other inappropriate behavior since Charlie Rose was fired from “CBS This Morning” in November.

Time Inc. has sold both Essence magazine and its parent lifestyle brand to a holding company owned by skin care entrepreneur Richelieu Dennis. The sale puts the 48-year-old women’s lifestyle title, the majority of whose readers are black, in the hands of an entirely black-owned independent company. “This acquisition of [Essence] represents the beginning of an exciting transformation of our iconic brand,” said Essence president Michelle Ebanks. “[W]e are excited to be able to return this culturally relevant and historically significant platform to ownership by the people and the consumers whom it serves,” said Dennis. The move comes as Time Inc. continues to sell off company assets that were not part of its recent sale to Meredith.