Judge Rules Larry Conners Can Work Radio, But Not TV

Larry Connors

A St. Louis County judge has cleared former KMOV anchor Larry Conners to find work in St. Louis radio but not television.

According to stltoday.com, Circuit Judge Kristine Allen Kerr stripped the word "radio" from a no-compete clause in Conners' contract with KMOV (Channel 4) but preserved the rest, which bars him from working for another television station in the St. Louis market for one year after his firing from KMOV.

"KMOV-TV has not articulated, and the court cannot conceive of, any situation whereby their television news program competes with local radio programs," Kerr wrote. "Television is visual; radio is auditory."

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.

Conners, 67, was fired May 23 after he posted comments to a Facebook page 10 days earlier implying the Internal Revenue Service was pressuring him after a 2012 interview with President Barack Obama. The Post-Dispatch reported Conners was the subject of an IRS lien for back taxes before the Obama interview.

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