Columbus radio host Scott Torgerson fired for controversial tweet
Last week we told you Columbus radio host Scott Torgerson was suspended for a controversial and offensive tweet criticizing ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard. Today, the other shoe dropped for The Torg as he was let go by 97.1 The Fan in Columbus. The station "future endeavored" Torg, appropriately enough, on their Twitter page...
Scott Torgerson is no longer employed by our company as of today. We appreciate his contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors.
— 97.1 The Fan (@971thefan) October 24, 2012
To be honest, this isn't a surprise. Once Kirk Herbstreit (still a very influential figure in Columbus, make no mistake) got involved publicly, it was always going to be difficult to see The Torg find a way back from his suspension. Not to mention there must have been some pressure from above for the ESPN Radio affiliate in Columbus to disassociate themselves with Torgerson after he jokingly wished firing or death upon Desmond Howard.
It's always tough when someone loses their job and I do believe there's a case to be made both for keeping Torgerson and letting him go. Torg made a mistake and apologized profusely for it, so some will say a suspension was enough and he learned his lesson. Others will say Torg had this coming as a sports shock jock who makes a living pushing the envelope and eventually there would come a day when he wouldn't be able to pull it back. I don't think there's a "right" answer in this case. Regardless, it's an unfortunate situation all the way around and hopefully Torgerson is able to learn from it and move on.
Given the nature of "The Common Man & The Torg" and outspokenness of Torgerson's ex co-host Mike Ricordati (who has taken on Herbstreit himself), I would expect fireworks when their show comes on the air at 3 PM ET today if you're in the Columbus area.
Make sure you listen at the start of the show today . . . 3pm. 971thefan.com
— Mike Ricordati (@CommonMan971) October 24, 2012
Screw you sandal wearing *meows*!!!!! Not only should Torg not have been fired but he should get a pair of gold pants for saying it! Go drink a steaming hot cup of SHUTTY you Whitney cry babies! Torg2012
Good riddance to the jerk. i live in Columbus and it is a shame that we have had to suffer with the inanity of him and his partner the Common Man. If only we could get rid of him too, the quality of sports talk radio in Columbus would significantly improve.
Miss the Torg already. the show was a sure fire hit; the banter was awesome took sports talk to a better place and they discussed the true feelings of fans. (97.1 made a mistake..two mistakes do not make a right). The essence of his tweet was that it was hard for him to watch college game day. I wish Scot success in the future and when he is on air again he lets all of us know where we can listen once again
There are things you can say and there are things in this social media, viral environment you'd better not say or risk your job. I think they made the right call. What he said was over the line.
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Their show had the second highest ratings of any non-syndicated sports show in the country... and it was in fairly tiny market. Make no mistake, 97.1 the Fan will greatly regret their colossal mistake in unjustly firing Mr. Torgerson.
@ChipRamsey1 @Weave77 Columbus is larger in size/population than either Cleveland or Cincinnati- and while they both have major pro sports, Columbus (which has hockey and soccer) has Ohio State football and basket ball. According to official census records, we are the 15th biggest city in the United States. How the hell does that translate to Columbus being 35th smallest market? In no sense of the word is Columbus 'tiny'!
Anyway, Torg, who I found entertaining 80% of the time (mildly annoying the rest of the time) got what was coming. Radio personalities such as Scott Torgerson live on the edge, and the price they pay is falling over the cliff.
Torg & Common Man (can we as a nation, PLEASE do away with these idiotic nicknames! Talk about cliche!) played the roll of the loud mouthed pranksters. Torg always playacted like he was dumb and clueless, which I am quite sure he is/was not...but he got burned this time. I mostly enjoyed listening to him, but I would have like him AND Mike Ricordati better if they cut back the phony outrage and 'shock' tactics about 10%- because they are both talented and funny. So long, Torg...
According to the Fall of 2012 Arbitron Radio Market Rankings, Columbus was the 35th largest market in the country. True, it's not Cheyenne, WY (which is why I used the adjective "fairly"), but it's still pretty darn small to have the second highest rated show in America. Heck, it was only the 3rd largest market in the state of Ohio!
Here's where I got my information: http://www.arbitron.com/home/mm001050.asp
@Weave77 @ChipRamsey1 I assume rating is based on percentage of listening audience. So, market size removed from "ratings". If everyone in Lima OH listened to a show it would be the highest rated, even though no one lives in Lima.
And you are forgetting the qualifiers on the quote...
2nd highest rated (eliminates market size) non-syndicated (eliminates ESPN/FOX shows) sport radio (eliminates "news" and "music" radio) in the country.
@clubtrillion @cklaiss does anyone w/ an ounce of common sense believe that Scott Torgerson wishes that Desmond Howard would die? #PCBS
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Radio station should stand behind their people, if fans don't like the commentary ratings will drop and then they should take action. Herbstreit should not carry any power in Columbus, he has way too many negative comments. I don't listen to the show but I do believe in freedom of speech.
@Janie18 I take it you've never worked in broadcasting. Your freedom is speech goes as far as your advertisers will allow you to go. That's the reality, no matter how you feel about it.
@ChipRamsey1 No I haven't worked in broadcasting nor am I a public figure. Howard chose the spot light and needs to put on his big boy pants and stop whining. That goes for herbstreit as well
@Janie18 @ChipRamsey1 Janie, you are missing the point. Torg had TOTAL freedom to say what he said; the police did not come lock him up, no charges were pressed, nothing legal happened to him. But his words were outrageous- just as he intended them to be- he worked the 'shock jock' side of the street, and this time, his mouth got him in trouble.
Torg was free to say what he said...
91.7 was free to fire him. End of story.
@ChipRamsey1 Come on, it was humor. I am offended by coulter using the word retard this was wrong in so many ways but until someone defines the limits around freedom of speech then we as Americans voice our opinions.
@Janie18 @ChipRamsey1 So, then, if someone is a public figure, it's okay for other people to wish they would die? People take that talk kind of seriously. I'm not a big fan of Gus Johnson and wish he would go away, but I've never hoped he would die. That's just wrong and irresponsible.There are limits to frree speech.
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Torg will be missed. CM&T was the best sports talk show (local or syndicated) in the Columbus market over the past 10 years. They had a great 6 year run!
FWIW, it was a silly comment, but IMO, Kirk's was worst. This was an "ivory tower vs sophomoric humor" contest. Humor lost. Too bad.
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It just makes no sense to fire him from a business or PR perspective in Columbus. Since the news of his suspension coming out I have seriously heard no one call for him to be fired except maybe Herbstreit (and why does The Fan or anyone in Columbus care what he thinks exactly?), yet I have heard thousands of people say they want him back. Why would you alienate your viewers that much?
And not to compare Desmond Howard to Jerry Sandusky, but Torg got fired for clearly joking that wanted Desmond Howard to die, yet today Common Man seriously stated he wanted Jerrry Sandusky murdered in prison. Now I don't have a problem with either comment, but to act like The Fan is somehow offended by what The Torg said is ridiculous, since those kind of statements are basically what they do. They make similar over the top (for laugh) comments all the time.
Bring back The Torg!!!!! LET HIM LIVE!!!!!
Craig Krenzel's been great "filling in" for Torg while he was "resting"...don't see why he wouldn't outright replace Torg on the show. I don't think Spielman only because of his ESPN commitments during college football season (though he has a twice-a-week segment on the show during football season).
For those you think Ricordati's on the chopping block (and he may be, this is just my take), he's one of the longest-tenured on-air personalities at The Fan. He's been there at least 7-8 years.
@njc2o @CoryBehrendt Agree. Krenzel is a great guy but his radio personality is horrible. AJ Hawk and Bobby C are better on the radio.
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@cb12 @backinaction614 @njc2o @CoryBehrendt
Hope he does get a show in radio - and takes Common Man with him!
@backinaction614 @njc2o @CoryBehrendt Like "Circle K" or not expect to hear more of him. While Ricordati's show is now just titled "Common Man" he said that Krenzel will be on with him tomorrow. One of the other station producers did the show with Ricordati today.
From the sounds of things Torg's not leaving Columbus in the near future, just obviously won't have a job in radio.
@awfulannouncing he won't be missed, just negative about everything, his show ran it's course
@awfulannouncing Its about time people learned that free speech doesnt mean you can say whatever you want when you work for somebody else
@awfulannouncing great exchange a lil while ago between @JohnKincade and gary danielson.
