Jack Church, who recently left his post as chief meteorologist at KERO after criticizing the station’s decision to air a report on local strip clubs during its 5 p.m. newscast, has recently opened up about his departure to the Christian Post.
Church, a devout Christian who teaches classes on faith at his church, told the Post that he asked KERO not run the segment during its 5 p.m. newscast because he felt it was “totally inappropriate material” for the early evening time slot.
When KERO moved forward with the story, planning to air it at the start of sweeps, Church said that he wouldn’t be a part of the newscast.
“I said I don’t want to be on that newscast. I don’t want to be associated to that material. They said, if you do indeed take off on Thursday, you may not come back on Friday,” he recalled.
When Church didn’t show up for work on Thursday, KERO fired him for breach of contract. Station management has tried to emphasize that Church’s dismissal was not the result of his criticism. Here’s a statement from Steven McEvoy, KERO’s vice president and general manager, sent to the Post:
Meteorologist Jack Church was not terminated by KERO-TV because he objected to a story the station was running or because of his religious beliefs. Mr. Church was terminated because he breached his contract.
While Church is currently out of a job after being a fixture on KERO’s 5, 6, and 11 p.m. newscasts, he said that he doesn’t regret his decision.
“The station did what it needed to do. I did what I needed to do. And I feel good about it.”