Three KNXO radio employees were suspended indefinitely after Friday's outburst by on-air host Marty Tirrell- aimed at fellow on-air host Larry Cotlar ((pictured, thanks WHO-TV)).Tirrell dropped 12 effing bombs in, about, a 75-second span during a commercial break when he thought his microphone was off.
((We know the linked changed yesterday from WHO-TV, but we fixed it...))
The fallout from the tantrum is as follows...from Tom Witosky and the Des Moines Register...
National sports talk shows replaced two regularly scheduled local programs Monday on KXNO radio as station officials dealt with a profane on-air incident Friday involving broadcasters Marty Tirrell and Larry Cotlar.
The pre-empted shows on AM-1460 took place as an executive for Clear Channel Radio Corp. confirmed that three employees at the station had been suspended until further notice.
Sanda Coyle, vice president of marketing for Clear Channel, confirmed that three KXNO employees had been suspended. She declined to name the individuals in an e-mail response to a listener — later confirmed by Coyle to The Des Moines Register.
Listeners of the sports station heard a profane argument Friday morning between Tirrell and Cotlar that included Tirrell’s use of the “f-word” at least a dozen times.
Joel McCrea, senior vice president of WHO/Clear Channel, issued an apology to listeners later Monday.
“A private conversation between two KXNO employees inadvertently found its way on the air,” McCrea said in the statement. “KXNO Radio apologizes to anyone who was offended by the content aired during this accidental broadcast.”
McCrea said the incident remains under review by KXNO officials, but that company policy forbids additional comment about the employees involved.
“Cotlar and Company,” Cotlar’s morning drive-time show, did not air Monday. The show was replaced by a Fox Sports Radio feed, along with Dan Patrick’s syndicated show. In addition, Geoff Conn, a co-host and producer of the Cotlar show, was not on the air, either.
On Monday afternoon, KXNO’s only local program was the “Jon Miller Show.” The regularly scheduled afternoon program, “Marty and Miller” — co-hosted by Tirrell and Ken Miller, — was replaced by a Fox Sports Radio show. When contacted Monday by the Register, McCrea declined to say how long the two local shows would remain on hiatus. Cotlar referred all questions to McCrea.
Tirrell also has declined comment on the incident.
McCrea said he had not been notified of the filing of an FCC complaint.
Jerry Crawford, an owner of the Iowa Energy men’s basketball team, said Tirrell would remain as the team’s play-by-play announcer.
“Marty Tirrell has been a model employee of the Iowa Energy and we believe he is the best play by play announcer in the league,” Crawford said. “If Tirrell had known he was on the air when he had the conversation with Larry Cotlar, we would terminate him. But as we understand the facts, he had no way to know he was on the air, and had the right to assume he was in a private conversation.”
The future of Tirrell’s weekly “Mouth of the Midwest” segment on KCCI-TV in Des Moines, meanwhile, remains uncertain.
“Obviously, we want to see how this plays out,” said Paul Fredericksen, KCCI president and general manager. “At this time, I’m not certain what the end result will be.”
Asked if the segment will air in its Thursday slot, Fredericksen said: “We’ll wait and see. It all depends what information comes out. If he said what we heard that he said, then those are pretty bad words as far as radio and the FCC is concerned.”
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