Longtime Lexington WKYT reporter Jerry Sander dies at age 79
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- Jerry Sander, 79, died; reported at WKYT and WTVQ and worked 26 years.
- Sander sued WKYT claiming age discrimination after workplace dispute; courts favored WKYT.
- He earned BA and MA from American University and served six years in the National Guard.
Jerry Sander, a former Lexington reporter who worked for television stations WKYT and WTVQ, died Saturday, according to his obituary.
Sander was 79. He was married to his wife, Karen, for 54 years, and had a son and daughter, according to his obituary.
Sander was best known for his work with CBS affiliate WKYT, where he spent 26 years of his career. He started with the news station in 1981 and worked as a general assignment reporter before departing in February 2008 after he claimed he was improperly fired because of his age.
Sander also worked for WSAZ in West Virginia and served as news director at Lexington’s ABC affiliate WTVQ-36 for a year. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from American University in Washington, D.C., before beginning his journalism career, according to his obituary.
Sander ended up suing WKYT. The lawsuit stemmed from a meeting between Sander and news director Robert Thomas, during which Thomas told Sander to produce stories for WKYT’s website and help manage SnoGo, which notified viewers of schools and business closings because of snow.
Sander said he was not trained to do the task and would not know where to start. After an exchange with Thomas, Sander said he felt sick and would go home.
Before leaving, Sander told multiple employees that he was either “going to quit” or “I’m quitting.”
Sander met with Thomas and WKYT general manager Wayne Martin four days after the meeting and was told that the station decided to accept his resignation and would offer him a severance with a signed statement of release. Sander declined the severance offer and sued the station later that fall.
A federal judge ruled in favor of WKYT’s parent company on all of Sander’s claims, saying the reporter voluntarily quit. Sander appealed the ruling, but the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled 2 to 1 in favor of WKYT.
Jerry served in the Army National Guard for six years, according to his obituary. He also enjoyed music and took classes at the University of Kentucky as a Donovan Scholar, a program that pays tuition and mandatory course fees for adults 65 and older.
