For many years, veteran broadcaster Alan Jones was the loudest voice in Australian radio.
The shock jock dominated Sydney’s airwaves for greater than 35 years — interviewing eight prime ministers, quite a few premiers and MPs.
He’s best-known for his breakfast present on Sydney radio station 2GB, a place he held till Could 2020.
Throughout his profession, Jones challenged and breached the media regulator’s requirements nicely over a dozen occasions.
Regardless of being thought of a controversial talkback radio host by some, Jones gained over audiences repeatedly within the rankings and turned his morning present into one of the listened-to applications within the nation.
On Monday, NSW Police arrested Jones following an investigation into alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning twenty years.
The veteran broadcaster arrived at the back of an unmarked police automotive. (ABC Information: Ethan Rix)
Queensland schoolboy
It was humble beginnings for Jones, who was born in 1941 and raised on a dairy farm in Oakey in southern Queensland’s Darling Downs.
As a pupil, Jones attended an area state faculty earlier than transferring to Toowoomba Grammar College as a boarder.
Jones’ mom was a trainer — a profession Jones would later pursue himself.
Initially with aspirations of changing into an opera singer, Jones as a substitute targeted his consideration on schooling and sport.
He turned a graduate of Queensland and Oxford Universities, with majors in English and French language and literature, politics and schooling.
In his early years, Jones labored within the Queensland public faculty system earlier than becoming a member of Brisbane Grammar College in 1963 as a trainer and sports activities coach.
Alan Jones labored at Brisbane Grammar College throughout his educating profession. (ABC Information: Chris Gillette)
In 1970, Jones relocated to Sydney and started educating English at The King’s College in Parramatta. He was additionally a rugby union coach for the coed workforce.
Political ambitions
Within the area of a decade, Jones had shifted his profession. It began with a push into politics or quite an try to take action.
Within the mid-Seventies, Jones joined the Nation Social gathering (now the Nationwide Social gathering). He stood for preselection for the federal seat of Eden-Monaro in regional NSW, however misplaced.
Alan Jones had his sights set on changing into a politician. (AAP: Tracey Nearmy)
He then stood because the Liberal Social gathering candidate for the NSW seat of Earlwood in 1978. He misplaced once more.
The identical consequence occurred when he stood for the federal seat of North Sydney in 1979.
As a substitute, Jones went on to work as a speechwriter for then-prime minister Malcolm Fraser.
A return to sports activities teaching
After stepping away from his politics, Jones turned to sports activities teaching on a far bigger scale than his educating days.
By 1982, he was the part-time supervisor of the NSW rugby union workforce. A 12 months later he was main the Manly rugby union workforce to victory as first-grade coach, of their first premiership win in 33 years.
Alan Jones, as coach of the Australian Wallabies in 1987. (Getty Pictures)
His most-lauded rugby coach gig needed to be main the Wallabies.
In 1984 Jones was elected coach of the boys’s nationwide rugby union workforce and stayed with them till 1988.
The workforce gained 102 matches, making him essentially the most profitable Australian rugby coach up to now. His groups gained 23 assessments out of 30.
It led to Jones being honoured within the Sport Australia Corridor of Fame. He would even be made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004 for his service to media and sports activities.
The facility that got here with the microphone
Sydney radio kingmaker John Brennan had met Jones at a Wallabies perform in 1984 — only a 12 months later, Jones was supplied the chance to strive his hand at broadcasting.
He began his media profession as morning information presenter for Sydney radio station 2UE.
Within the seat with a microphone, Jones’ morning present rankings grew.
For the following three a long time, Jones gained the Sydney breakfast radio rankings over 221 occasions, beating out many in style colleagues and rivals.
He additionally had unparalleled entry to interview Australia’s strongest in state and federal parliament.
It resulted in Jones having affect over Australian politics — on this case as a broadcaster who shared his private political opinions through the airwaves, quite than as an elected politician.
NSW One Nation MP Mark Latham and former prime minister Tony Abbott have been current throughout Alan Jones’s ultimate breakfast present for 2GB in 2020. (AAP: Dean Lewis)
In 2002, Jones made the choice to leap from 2UE to Sydney radio station 2GB. He was the morning broadcaster for the station for 18 years till 2020.
All through his media profession, Jones breached broadcasting guidelines on a number of events.
In 2000, an Australian Broadcasting Authority inquiry heard Jones had accepted hidden sponsorships to advertise shoppers on air. Jones was cleared of additional cash-for-comment allegations in 2004.
Within the aftermath of the Cronulla riots and following feedback he had made on air, the media watchdog dominated Jones had probably inspired violence or brutality on the premise of ethnicity.
Throughout a 2012 speech at a Liberal get together fundraiser, Jones claimed former prime minister Julia Gillard’s late father “died of disgrace” due to his daughter’s political “lies”. In the identical 12 months, Jones instructed Ms Gillard must be hauled out to sea.
The in 2019, Jones stated then-New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern ought to have a sock shoved down her throat.
Alan Jones’ feedback about Jacinda Ardern obtained 127 complaints and breached decency requirements in accordance with the media regulator.
(AAP: Tracey Nearmy)
Together with radio, Jones had a four-nights-a-week prime-time program on Sky Information Australia and an everyday column in Sydney’s Each day Telegraph.
However by 2021, Jones’s life regarded very totally different.
He had retired from radio, his contract with Sky Information Australia was not renewed in November 2021, and his column was scrapped.
Jones had an occasional look on streaming information channel ADH TV, which encompasses a slew of conservative political commentators. His final present on the streaming station aired in November 2023.
He has remained largely out the highlight since.
