A judge has ruled that former KMOV anchor Larry Conners can work in St. Louis radio but not television, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Conners was fired from the St. Louis CBS affiliate after claiming the IRS was targeting him because of a tense 2012 interview with President Obama. His KMOV contract included a non-compete clause that prevents him from working at another TV or radio station in St. Louis for a year. Conners subsequently filed an age discrimination suit against KMOV.
According to the Post-Dispatch, Circuit Judge Kristine Allen Kerr removed the word “radio” from the non-compete clause:
Kerr said she was not convinced KMOV would risk losing viewers or ratings from radio competition. However, Kerr said KMOV’s “interests in protecting its television viewer base, ratings and advertising revenue are legitimate.”
The judge also found KMOV had the right to fire Conners “for cause” and did not breach Conners’ contract. The judge also said she found no evidence KMOV fired Conners because of his age.
“It’s perfectly clear that I’m fine to do radio,” said Conners, who said previously that he talked with officials from several radio local radio stations after being fired. He said he did not discuss specific terms with radio stations because the non-compete clause dampened radio stations’ interest.
[…] Of Kerr’s sustaining the TV non-compete clause, Conners said, “it was kind of like splitting the baby, trying to make both sides happy.”