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 Might 2020.
Throughout his profession, Jones challenged and breached the media regulator’s requirements properly over a dozen instances.
Regardless of being thought of a controversial talkback radio host by some, Jones gained over audiences repeatedly within the scores and turned his morning present into probably the most listened-to packages within the nation.
On Monday, NSW Police arrested Jones following an investigation into alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning 20 years.
The veteran broadcaster arrived behind 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 scholar, Jones attended a neighborhood state college earlier than transferring to Toowoomba Grammar Faculty as a boarder.
Jones’ mom was a instructor — a profession Jones would later pursue himself.
Initially with aspirations of turning into an opera singer, Jones as an alternative centered his consideration on training and sport.
He grew to become a graduate of Queensland and Oxford Universities, with majors in English and French language and literature, politics and training.
In his early years, Jones labored within the Queensland public college system earlier than becoming a member of Brisbane Grammar Faculty in 1963 as a instructor and sports activities coach.
Alan Jones labored at Brisbane Grammar Faculty throughout his instructing profession. (ABC Information: Chris Gillette)
In 1970, Jones relocated to Sydney and started instructing English at The King’s Faculty in Parramatta. He was additionally a rugby union coach for the scholar crew.
Political ambitions
Within the house of a decade, Jones had shifted his profession. It began with a push into politics or reasonably an try to take action.
Within the mid-Nineteen 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 turning into a politician. (AAP: Laura Friezer)
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 an alternative, 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 instructing days.
By 1982, he was the part-time supervisor of the NSW rugby union crew. A yr later he was main the Manly rugby union crew 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 crew and stayed with them till 1988.
The crew gained 102 matches, making him probably the most profitable Australian rugby coach thus far. His groups gained 23 exams 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 ability that got here with the microphone
Sydney radio kingmaker John Brennan had met Jones at a Wallabies perform in 1984 — only a yr later, Jones was supplied the chance to attempt 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 scores grew.
For the following three many years, Jones gained the Sydney breakfast radio scores over 221 instances, 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 by way of the airwaves, reasonably than as an elected politician.
NSW One Nation MP Mark Latham and former prime minister Tony Abbott had 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 purchasers 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 possible inspired violence or brutality on the premise of ethnicity.
Alan Jones’ feedback about Jacinda Ardern obtained 127 complaints and breached decency requirements, based on the media regulator. (AAP: Tracey Nearmy, file photograph)
Throughout a 2012 speech at a Liberal social gathering fundraiser, Jones claimed former prime minister Julia Gillard’s late father “died of disgrace” due to his daughter’s political “lies”. In the identical yr, Jones prompt Ms Gillard needs to be hauled out to sea.
Then in 2019, Jones stated then-New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern ought to have a sock shoved down her throat.
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 appeared very completely 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 incorporates a slew of conservative political commentators. His final present on the streaming station aired in November 2023.
He has remained principally out the highlight since.
