One-way radio plays by its own rules
By David Marr December 13, 2005
BY THURSDAY Alan Jones was screaming like a race caller whose horse was coming home. "I'm the person that's led this charge here. Nobody wanted to know about North Cronulla, now it's gathered to this." The riot was three days away and Sydney's top-rating breakfast host had heaps of anonymous emails to whip his 2GB listeners on. "Alan, it's not just a few Middle Eastern bastards at the weekend, it's thousands. Cronulla is a very long beach and it's been taken over by this scum. It's not a few causing trouble, it's all of them." Sunday's trouble was brewing all week on talkback, - especially 2GB.
Radio doesn't get much grimmer than Jones's efforts. He was dead keen for a demo at the beach: "A rally, a street march, call it what you will. A community show of force." He assured his audience he "understood" why that famous text message went out and he read it right through again on air: "Come to Cronulla this weekend to take revenge. This Sunday every Aussie in the shire get down to North Cronulla to support the leb and wog bashing day …"
Daily he cautioned his listeners not to take the law into their own hands, but he warmed to those who had exactly that on their minds. On Thursday Charlie rang to suggest all junior footballers in the shire gather on the beach to support the lifesavers. "Good stuff, good stuff," said Jones.
"I tell you who we want to encourage, Charlie, all the Pacific Island people because, you want to know something, they don't take any nonsense. They are proud to be here - all those Samoans and Fijians. They love being here. And they say 'Uh huh, uh huh. You step out of line, look out.' And of course, cowards always run, don't they." When John called on Tuesday to recommend vigilante action - "If the police can't do the job, the next tier is us" - Jones did not dissent. "Yeah. Good on you John." And when he offered a maxim his father had picked up in the war - "Shoot one, the rest will run" - Jones roared with laughter. "No, you don't play Queensberry's rules. Good on you, John."
Pity poor Berta - "not of a Middle Eastern family" - who reported hearing "really derogatory remarks" aimed at Middle Eastern people on Cronulla beach. Jones cut her off: "Let's not get too carried away, Berta. We don't have Anglo-Saxon kids out there raping women in western Sydney." Yesterday 2GB broadcasters claimed two thirds of calls to the station supported "what happened" on Sunday. But Alan Jones is not around to deal with the aftermath. He's having a well-earned holiday.
Source: http://smh.com.au/news/national/oneway-rad...ays-by-its-own- rules/2005/12/12/1134236005956.html
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