Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 28, 1992 TAG: 9202280225
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
DJ MOVES; STATION SUES
A Pulaski radio station is taking one of its former employees to court Monday for moving to a Radford station after signing an agreement not to work for a competing station for at least a year.Collins Knighton, 36, who was operations manager and morning disc jockey at WPSK-FM (107.1), Knighton said Thursday he was fired by General Manager Mike Gummer Feb. 3 and pressured into signing the agreement.
Knighton, who is from Atlanta, had worked at the Pulaski station since May. He said he took a $2,000 cashier's check for transition pay as part of the agreement.
But he returned the check uncashed when he got his job at WRIQ-FM (101.7) in Radford Feb. 17.
Knighton is doing the same kind of contemporary country music morning show in Radford, where he also sells advertising for the station.
WPSK contends that Knighton's work at the rival station has damaged it to the extent of $25,000. At the time the suit was filed, Knighton had been on the air in Radford for two days.
"If I was that valuable, I wouldn't have let me go," Knighton said Thursday.
The Pulaski station is seeking an injunction from Radford Circuit Judge Duane Mink to keep Knighton from working at the Radford station. The agreement was that Knighton would not work at any station within 60 miles of the Pulaski station for 12 months.
Gummer said Thursday the station's attorneys had advised him not to comment.
Knighton's version of what happened is that Gummer called him in the week before Christmas to fire him because two clients had told Gummer that Knighton had been talking about him behind his back.
He said that he and Gummer agreed for him to continue at Pulaski until he found a new job or Gummer found a replacement.
On Feb. 3, Gummer told him, "today's the day," even though no replacement had been found, Knighton said.
Knighton said he has two children in Atlanta for whom he is paying child support and he did agree to take the $2,000 and sign the agreement.
He said he had been looking for another radio job since December. When the Radford position became available, he returned the unendorsed check and repudiated the agreement.
Knighton said he still does not know exactly why he was fired.
"He never got back on that two clients thing again," Knighton said. "We had a personality conflict, no doubt about it. . . . It was professional. . . . Now he's made it personal."