Hot Tomato Source – Hans Torv speaks to radioinfo

Hans Torv, now a director of Hot Tomato, the licencee of the new Gold Coast station, spoke to radioinfo about his decision to leave WSFM after many years and join his brother’s company as they start their new radio station.

radioinfo: Was it a difficult decision to leave ARN after so many years?

Torv: No. About 12 months prior I had started feeling uneasy about the ARN
management’s commitment to talent, whether it be sales talent, producers,
jocks. They were slow and reluctant to commence contract renegotiations. A
lot of the people I worked with on a day to day basis felt they had been
dropped out of the loop so I started looking at my options and the seeds of
Hot Tomato were sown. By the time they finally made an offer it was too
late, I had pushed the boat out from the shore.

radioinfo: Was the contract negotiation process with ARN amicable?

Torv: Yes, though they never upped the ante. It was a case of “Torvy, let’s have
one more year of the same.”
Had they done this 10 months before I have no doubt you’d still be hearing
Hans and Kayley having a great old time.

radioinfo: What is your job now with Hot Tomato?

Torv: Formally I am one of the two executive directors. But I reckon Hot Tomato is
the only radio company in the world where two of the the directors could
pull a reasonable airshift, write copy, voice and produce the ads and
promos, pull together a sales presentation on powerpoint and brainstorm the
marketing department. We will be hands on and do whatever it takes.

radioinfo: Are you commuting to the Gold Coast or have you moved there?

Torv: My radio career began at 2MW Murwillumbah and I have actually been a rate payer
on the Gold Coast since 1990, my wife was a foundation employee at Jupiters
Casino. It’s like going home, though I am closing in on gold frequent flyer
status this month. All the Hot Tomato team will be Gold Coast based, but it will
be a staggered arrival as we gather the best from around the country.

radioinfo: What are your first priorities for the station?

Torv: Switching on the transmitter for the first time.

radioinfo: Can you reveal anything about the format or target demographics at this stage?

Torv: Nope.

radioinfo: Will you present a shift?

Torv: We will be hands on and do whatever it takes like I said before.

radioinfo: When will the station be on air?

Torv: We are hoping by April. Really, as soon as possible, though we still have
some fitout to complete, we are on track to give the Gold Coast a fresh
sound.

radioinfo: Where is your transmitter site and has securing the site presented any problems?

Torv: The licence requires us to locate the TX at Mt Tambourine. Everybody is up
there, it is a prime location for a transmitter mast. There’s an issue with
the height and the ABA is doing a great job sorting it. We may have to raise
the height from 22 to 63 meters. This is not a problem for us.

radioinfo: I hear you had a good surprise party with various radio people attending
during the holiday break.

Torv: Kayley Harris and Rebecca Orr did organise a
surprise party in December as a way of saying “Here’s to 22 years at WS”.
There were a lot of work mates and ex employees who turned up to get into
the grog at my little hole in the wall, The Crows Nest Businessman’s Club.
The girls booked out the club for the night. Was it a BIG night? I can only
say that even Greg Hendricks (C91.3) got lost walking home the 3 blocks to
my place.

radioinfo: Have you heard Jonesy on air at WSFM with Kayley? Any comments?

Torv: No more than one or two breaks. It’d be inappropriate for me to make a comment.
But he better look after Kayley and Bec or he’ll have me leading their
legions of fans to his house for a stoning.

radioinfo: What did you think of his ‘Terrorist Hotline’ prank?

Torv: I only read about it. We have all made a bad judgement call on air at some
stage in our careers.
They are usually the most educational of all your mistakes.
I trust the execs will enjoy the paper exchange with the ABA.

radioinfo: Would you have done it?

Torv: Nope. And I wouldn’t have replayed it that afternoon either.