Everyone's entitled to get out of their contract if the other party agrees to terminate it. Regardless of whether they knew he was a reporter or not, I wonder if they figured they'd already made a buck from this customer (he only had six months left or $200 to pay out) and perhaps they just have more to gain by keeping him happy by releasing him from his contract. Therefore increasing the chances that the customer will stay with them in the long run and perhaps even tell his friends about it.