Will KABC’s Moyer Pull Up Anchor?

KABC Channel 7 pulled Paul Moyer off the air this week as part of a tough negotiating process after rival KNBC Channel 4 reportedly prepared to offer Moyer, a KABC mainstay since 1979 and the city’s highest paid anchor, a significant raise to lure him away when his contract expires June 5.

Terry Crofoot, KABC’s general manager, confirmed Wednesday that he had yanked Moyer during the final week of the May ratings sweeps as a way of protecting the station from giving exposure to someone who might be working for the competition next month.

“If he’s going to leave us--and that won’t be resolved for a while yet--we wouldn’t want him on our air,” Crofoot said.

Moyer currently makes in excess of $1 million annually, and while Crofoot would not comment specifically on any of the financial negotiations with him, a KABC source said that the station has offered Moyer a slight raise. Contractually, other stations cannot make any firm offers to Moyer, who co-anchors with Ann Martin KABC’s top-rated 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts, until his current five-year pact expires next month. KABC would then have seven days to match any offer.

A spokeswoman at KNBC, which has seen its news fortunes fall over the last year, declined to comment.