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Former NBC investigative producer gets April retrial date in age discrimination case

Former KNBC-TV reporter Frank Snepp appears in an undated handout photo. (Photo: The Desk/Supplied)
Former KNBC-TV reporter Frank Snepp appears in an undated handout photo. (Photo: The Desk/Supplied)

A new trial date has been set in the case of a former news producer who sued the parent company of KNBC-TV over alleged age discrimination.

Frank Snepp, 72, will get to have his case re-tried before a new jury in April, according to an e-mail release sent to The Desk on Friday.

Snepp first went to trial in November after he accused his former employer, KNBC-TV, of firing him because he was considered too old to work at the station. The former CIA analyst turned investigative news producer said he enjoyed a comfortable working relationship with the station until KNBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal, was purchased by Comcast in 2009.

NBC contests the issue, saying Snepp was dropped because he was no longer performing his job duties adequately.

Snepp’s trial went on for two weeks before the case went to the jury. After a week of deliberations, the jury said they were unable to reach a unanimous decision in the case. A judge later declared a mistrial in the case.

According to a publicist representing Snepp, a poll found that seven of the 12 jurors involving the case favored Snepp over NBC.

Snepp’s retrial is set for April 18.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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