Wednesday 5 July 2006

The story about Chris Masters' book on Alan Jones has grown legs:

RADIO host Mike Carlton has told listeners a book about rival broadcaster Alan Jones might have been dumped by the ABC board because it accuses the powerful Sydney figure of being gay.

Now this would be a stunner, wouldn't it? I reckon he deserves anything that's dished out to him, having been extremely vociferous against anything slightly left-wing for years. Not that I listen to his radio broadcasts.

I'm very interested in this story, as Jones is a major backer of the Howard Liberal government, and he is also one of the most popular of the radio shock jocks. It would be interesting to read, though: if Melbourne University Press ever publishes it. You may remember that, even before the first story I posted on, the ABC had received a letter from Jones' lawyer warning them that the radio presenter would take legal action if they published the book. Masters had already heeded legal advice last year, and amended the book.

Jones is very wealthy, and can afford to engage the most expensive lawyers available to defend himself. Masters, with 20 years' experience as an ABC journalist, is the ideal candidate to expose the flaws in the Jones facade.

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