Talkback host Alan Jones to step down
Conservative talkback host Alan Jones has announced his retirement after a long and controversial career dominating Sydney breakfast radio.
Jones announced his shock exit to breakfast show listeners yesterday morning telling them he would wrap up broadcasting on May 29.
The retirement is earlier than listeners may have expected as Jones last year re-signed a two-year contract with 2GB’s owner Nine Radio. The 79-year-old has suffered bouts of ill health in recent years while his programme has been hit by sponsor boycotts due to a string controversial comments aimed at prominent women including former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern.
‘‘As you know, I was away last week and as [stand in host] Chris [Smith] explained one of those doctor things – these days I seem to have too many of them,’’ Jones said. ‘‘Health-wise though I am okay, but we are living in the world of coronavirus and the most repeated statement we hear is, we must listen to the experts.
‘‘I’m taking this opportunity to indicate to my radio family that I will be retiring from radio at the end of this month.
‘‘I’ve decided that the bulk of my workload is dominated by radio. I guess after 35 years the full stop has to go in somewhere. I’m immensely grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given to share ideas to help people, even though I argue with people on behalf of someone else, these are privileges in this industry.’’
Jones will continue in his other roles including writing for News Corporation mastheads and his show on Sky News. He will be replaced by drive show presenter Ben Fordham.
Jones is known in radio circles for having a volcanic temper when he is displeased as evidenced by profanityladen 2002 bloopers tape leaked to youth radio station Triple J. He is also known for displaying a sense of generosity towards colleagues he likes.
His time on the airwaves has been filled with controversy. In the late 1990s, Jones was exposed by the ABC program Media Watch for being paid to provide favourable commentary to major cooperations including Qantas and Optus and not disclosing the deals when they were on air.
The ‘‘cash-for-comment’’ scandal, as it became known, also caught up 2UE stablemate John Laws.
But he has faced a different sort of challenge with advertisers in the past decade. He was forced to apologise after telling a Sydney Young Liberal fundraiser in 2012 that Gillard’s father ‘‘died of shame’’, commentary which caused the broadcaster to temporarily suspend advertising after more than 70 companies walked away from the breakfast show.Comments Jones made about Ardern last year cost his show 50 per cent of its revenue. Jones said Prime Minister Scott Morrison should ‘‘shove a sock down her throat’’ following Ardern’s warning at a Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu that Australia ‘‘will have to answer to the Pacific’’ on climate change. – Nine