LOS ANGELES TIMES

By Greg Braxton

April 27, 2009

Veteran news anchor Paul Moyer may be done with KNBC-TV Channel 4, but he may not be finished with local news.

“I’m officially retired from Channel 4, but that doesn’t mean I’m officially retired from the news business forever,” Moyer told The Times on Friday. “I can’t predict what will happen in the future. I’m not closing the door, but there’s nothing out there at the moment.”

While on vacation early this month, Moyer unexpectedly announced he was retiring from KNBC after 22 years but would return for a short time before selecting a final broadcast date. However, station News Director Robert Long told staffers Friday that Moyer had “decided to make the transition from vacation to retirement a seamless one, and he will not be returning to our air to say goodbye.”

“I just didn’t feel there was anything to gain by going back and working for another few weeks,” said Moyer. “I hope that people understand why I’m not going back. I get very uncomfortable with big formal goodbyes.”

Moyer is considered one of the last of a breed of well-paid and highly promoted local news anchors. His departure follows speculation that his salary, estimated at more than $3 million a year, had been too costly for the station in a time of declining revenue and viewership industrywide.

The newscaster said he has been moved by viewers who have expressed their sense of loss about his departure. “What really touches me is they thank me for being there,” he said. “I really feel like I have a relationship with the people of Southern California. I feel connected to them. I will really miss that.”

For now, Moyer said his focus will be on his family and his children: “I’ve got two kids, 16 and 19, and they need their dad. Now they’ve got him, full time.”