Screenshot from SBS
By Situation Theatre 20/8/2019. Republished in honour of Jones’ retirement 12/5/2020.
Twitter users have paid tribute to his knack for starting race riots as well as to some of their favourite times he was sued for defamation, including in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2015, and twice in 2018.
Following Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s passionate defence of Alan Jones on ABC News Breakfast yesterday, acknowledging how “Alan Jones pursues causes to the benefit of communities that he broadcasts into”, social media has witnessed an outpouring of gratitude from these communities.
Optus, Telstra, and Qantas all released statements thanking Jones for his well-remunerated hard work for those companies throughout the 1990s.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) tweeted out their admiration for the way he had broadcast material prior to the Cronulla Riots that they deemed was “likely to encourage violence or brutality and to vilify people of Lebanese and Middle-Eastern backgrounds on the basis of ethnicity”. They also wanted to acknowledge his storied history of breaches of the commercial radio code of practice.
Several judges recognised his contribution to the Australian legal system, having been found guilty of contempt of court on multiple occasions.
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard took to Facebook to fondly recall the time Jones said her father “died of shame” and suggested she be “put in a chaff bag and thrown into the sea”. She then nostalgically highlighted the literature linking such media attitudes to aggression towards women in the community.
Current New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern echoed Gillard’s comments, and added how much his advocacy of “a few backhanders” for powerful women was benefitting communities across Australia and New Zealand.
It is important we appreciate the full history of the shock jock’s career to make sure he gets the recognition he deserves.