The Paul Moyer Puzzle: Has He Weighed Anchor at KABC?

Technically, there is still a chance that Paul Moyer, the highest paid TV anchorman in the Los Angeles market, will resurface at KABC-TV Channel 7. But that’s not the way those who work at “Eyewitness News” have been telling it.

Viewers who have called during the last several days to ask when Moyer would be back on the air--he was yanked off by station management one month ago as part of a tough contract negotiation--have been told by KABC: “He won’t be returning. He’s left the station.”

Some callers were hooked up to a tape recording that said essentially the same thing. Callers asking the main ABC switchboard to connect them directly with Moyer, who is being wooed with a lucrative new deal by rival station KNBC-TV Channel 4, were also told: “Paul is no longer here.”

But Terry Crofoot, KABC’s general manager, said in an interview Monday that Moyer has not officially left the station, and that the statements from the newsroom to the contrary were a result of a “misunderstanding.”

Crofoot said that KABC is waiting to see the details of the contract offers Moyer might receive from other stations before deciding whether to retain the anchorman’s services.

Moyer’s contract with KABC, which paid just over $1 million a year, expired early this month. He is now in the middle of a 30-day window in which he may entertain written offers from competitors. Under the terms of his contract, KABC would then have seven days to match any offer.

KABC has offered Moyer a new contract with a slight raise, but KNBC, which has fallen far behind KABC in news ratings in the last year, is widely expected to offer Moyer a six-year deal with an annual salary in excess of $1.25 million. As part of his deal with KNBC, Moyer reportedly would also pinch-hit for Tom Brokaw and Bryant Gumbel on NBC’s “Nightly News” and “Today.”

With two weeks left in the 30-day window, Crofoot said Monday that KABC has not seen any offer from another station. If Moyer simply rides out the 30-day period without presenting KABC with a counteroffer, he would be free to sign with anyone else.

KNBC would not comment, but one source there said that the NBC-owned station and Moyer have agreed to terms and that they are waiting for the window to expire to prevent KABC from matching the deal.

Ed Hookstratten, Moyer’s agent, could not be reached for comment.