Reporter Who Alleged Possible IRS Targeting After Tough Obama Interview Has Been Fired

(Photo: KMOV-TV)

Larry Conners, the St. Louis reporter who alleged the IRS may have unfairly targeted him after his tough interview with President Barack Obama, has been fired, KMOV-TV announced Wednesday.

"We regret to announce that Larry Conners is no longer a KMOV news reporter. Larry was a valued member of KMOV for a long time, and we will miss him," the news station's President Mark Pimentel wrote.

He went on:

"For KMOV, there is no higher cause than unbiased, objective news reporting. It is what our viewers expect and it is what we work very hard to deliver. We can accept no less. Larry is certainly entitled to his opinion, but taking a personal political position on one of the Station’s Facebook pages creates an appearance of bias that is inconsistent with important journalistic standards. Larry’s departure has nothing to do with the particular position he took, but it does have to do with our belief that his actions made it impossible for him to report for KMOV on certain political matters going forward without at least an appearance of bias. Bringing you accurate and unbiased reporting is the reason we exist."

Conners recently claimed that the IRS started "hammering" him shortly after his tough interview with Obama.

Here are some excerpts of the Facebook message he posted earlier this month:

I don’t accept “conspiracy theories”, but I do know that almost immediately after the interview, the IRS started hammering me.

At the time, I dismissed the “co-incidence”, but now, I have concerns …

[...]

In that April 2012 interview, I questioned President Obama on several topics: the Buffet Rule, his public remarks about the Supreme Court before the ruling on the Affordable Care Act….The Obama interview caught fire and got wide-spread attention because I questioned his spending.

I said some viewers expressed concern, saying they think he’s “out of touch” because of his personal and family trips in the midst of our economic crisis.

The President’s face clearly showed his anger [during the interview]; afterwards, his staff which had been so polite … suddenly went cold.

[...]

What I don’t like to even consider … is that because of the Obama interview … the IRS put a target on me.

Can I prove it? At this time, no.

Do you think he deserved to be fired for his personal remarks on the IRS?