Alan Jones is declared “the voice of the people” by loyal listeners after controversial comments about Jacinda Ardern
2GB radio host Alan Jones thanked his listeners for staying by his side amongst the controversy surrounding Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Advertisers deserted the show in droves after Jones said that Morrison should “shove a sock down her throat” after Ardern commented on Australia’s resistant stance on climate change policies.
Despite the controversy, the ratings of the show haven’t dropped considerably, with a 0.6 drop overall in the latest ratings released. This means that the show has managed to hold onto its lead with a 13.4 per cent audience rating.
Jones was confident when he addressed his listeners on air on Wednesday morning.
“I rarely talk about myself here … nor do we talk about ratings, but there are plenty of people who report on radio ratings that don’t know a thing about it,” Jones said, according to The New Daily.
“I suppose given some of the headlines over the last few weeks, this may be worth mentioning.
“There are only eight radio ratings a year in Sydney and this breakfast program has now won 221, which is over 30 years.
“My thanks to listeners who are very loyal. They’ve been with me a long time.”
Jones then read out letters from loyal listeners saying that Jones is the “voice of the people” and that he should “keep up the fight against the lefties”.
With 71 major advertisers cancelling advertising with the station, which includes brands such as 7/11, Coles and the Commonwealth Bank, it’s clear that advertisers are worried even though Jones isn’t.
Nathan Hodges, managing director of marketing consultancy TrinityP3 said that advertisers still running their brands on Jones’ show should be nervous.
“The campaign against (Jones) has had some success because they’ve asked advertisers if they’re keen to support him, and there’s some nervousness there,” he said.
“I don’t think we should be distracted. It’s not to influence the audience – if they’re going to listen to (him), they will.”
“The advertisers should be under pressure,” he added.
“I’m not saying every advertiser should only appear in places they’ve got political sympathies. This is commercial. But it becomes a point where commerce over principle is an issue and this is one of those cases.”