Kmetko Will Exit KCBS-TV Next Month

Steve Kmetko, the entertainment reporter at KCBS-TV Channel 2 since 1987, will leave the station when his contract expires next month.

KCBS spokeswoman Carol Kinsey said Friday that Kmetko, who also reports for CBS’ “This Morning,” was offered a new deal, but refused it. Kinsey would not comment on the terms of the proposed contract, but a source in the KCBS newsroom said that Kmetko would have had to accept a 67% pay cut.

Kmetko confirmed that he would be leaving but declined to comment further.

Kmetko reportedly was earning in excess of $500,000 a year working for both KCBS and “This Morning.” He will continue to work for the network morning show until the end of the year.

Kinsey said that the station was happy with Kmetko, who began at the station as the Inland Empire correspondent in 1982, but under news director John Lippman, the station no longer was interested in “the soft celebrity interviews and movie reviews” that Kmetko had filed in the past. Kinsey said that Lippman now wanted hard news reporting on Hollywood.

A source at KCBS disputed that explanation, however, characterizing what Lippman wants about Hollywood as “sleaze.” The source said that Kmetko “cringed” at such assignments and resisted them whenever he could.

Examples of stories that Kmetko was asked to report include one on whether blondes have more success in Hollywood and another on allegations that Merv Griffin had sexually harassed former “Dance Fever” host Deney Terrio. Both of these stories were said to have been requested on days that “Geraldo,” which precedes the station’s 5 p.m. newscast, tackled the same subjects.

Kinsey said that KCBS is now looking for a new reporter to cover Hollywood.