That was 20 years ago. It's not a big deal, and you can't run a Kansas City newsroom the same way you would run a Los Angeles newsroom anyway.
Perret has been out of work most of the year. He interviewed for the ND job at Meredith's KPHO in Phoenix, but didn't get it. I'm sure he'll do a fine job at KCTV. He's walking into a winning situation.
Perret will probably draw more on his experience at Magid than anything. News directors who previously worked as consultants stroll into the newsroom armed with research. They'll tell you "this worked in market X, so it will work here" or "mostly women over age 70 watch newscasts at this time, all stories need to be relevant to them." That has been my experience.