KCBS Asks Lampley to Return to Sports

Seeking a new sportscaster to replace Keith Olbermann and a way to cut its payroll, KCBS Channel 2 reportedly has asked Jim Lampley to return to his old job as sports director.

But Lampley, who was removed from the anchor desk Wednesday, apparently is seeking further concessions from the station.

Lampley, who served as sports director a year before moving to the anchor job in 1988, still has more than a year remaining on a contract that pays him about $1 million annually to anchor the news, and he apparently can simply sit out the duration of the contract and collect his salary.

In bumping him from the anchor lineup Wednesday, KCBS said only that Lampley would be going to France next month to cover the Winter Olympics for the station.

If Lampley takes the sports job at his current salary, KCBS would have cut its payroll by the approximately $500,000 per year it had paid to Olbermann, who was cut loose last month.

KCBS’ new anchor lineup now features Tritia Toyota and Chris Conangla at 5 p.m., and Bree Walker and Michael Tuck at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Conangla, who had been anchoring the early morning and the noon news at KCBS, becomes the only Latino male anchoring a major newscast on a local VHF station.