After Testimony, Tegna Maybe Looking to Cut Ties with Longtime Anchor
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Back on June 29th, FTVLive told you about how WGRZ (Buffalo) Weatherman Kevin O'Connell took the stand in Niagara County Courtroom as a paid expert.
It seems the suits at Tegna read the story on FTVLive and now O'Connell is in a bit of hot water.
The Robert D. Berkun law firm, which quotes an endorsement from O'Connell on its website, called the longtime weather anchor to the stand in Niagara County Court, where O'Connell testified as an expert in the case.
O'Connell is in contract negotiations and it appears that the Tegna suits are not happy about his paid courtroom testimony. WGRZ General Manager Jim Toellner said this to the Buffalo News: "Our employment and ethics policies do not allow newsroom employees to provide endorsements for commercial businesses. Station management approval is required for testimony and it is rarely given.”
In other words, O'Connell screwed up and WGRZ and Tegna might be using this as a way to drop a longtime, highly paid employee off the payroll.
O'Connell has been with the station 25 years and his contract expires this week. Sources say he has been missing from the air recently and some inside the station believe he was suspended.
O'Connell could not be reached for comment.
