After three decades as a major force in the Australian media landscape, Alan Jones has been dumped from his hosting role at Sky News Australia, after his show experienced low ratings.
In a statement on Thursday, Jones said he was offered an alternative weekly slot on a new streaming service called Flash, which he declined.
Over the years, the 80-year-old has become one of Australia’s most divisive media figures and has made some of the most controversial and misogynistic comments in the public domain. His departure from Sky News Australia comes just months after his column in the Daily Telegraph was discontinued – it was noted by the Telegraph that his writing no longer resonated with readers.
In a column published to his Facebook page on Thursday, Jones said in his departure from Sky, he hopes he has “contributed to the morale of the organisation”.
During the pandemic, Jones’ commentary focused heavily on COVID-19 disinformation and was one of the reasons Sky News had its YouTube channel temporarily suspended in August. On Sky, Jones called NSW’s Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant a “village idiot”.
Jones’ sacking from Sky comes after he retired from his slot as a shock jock at 2GB breakfast radio in May 2020, a platform he used to verbally attack female leaders for years. In 2012, he famously declared women were “destroying the joint”.
During Julia Gillard’s prime ministership, Jones often used violent language when talking about her. Notably, he said she should be “put into a chaff bag” and thrown out to sea, and once, during a speech at a conservative function, he suggested her late father had “died of shame”.
He labelled Senator Sarah Hanson-Young as “brain dead” and in 2019, he set his sights across the Tasman Sea, when he said Scott Morrison should “shove a sock” down the throat of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Jones’ breakfast show on 2GB lost about half of its advertising revenue after a boycott over his comments about Jacinda Ardern, a trend that was orchestrated by groups including the ‘Mad Fucking Witches’.
On Twitter on Thursday, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd paid tribute to the Mad Fucking Witches for their efforts leading the boycott of advertisers from Jones’ radio show. Jennie Hill, founder of the Mad Fucking Witches, said she’d “spent half the day weeping” on Thursday after hearing the news that Jones had been sacked.
“I don’t over-state what MFW achieve, but we believe we had a big role in Alan Jones’ sacking, & it feels so good to rid the world of his hate,” Hill said.
I’ve spent half the day weeping. I don’t over-state what MFW achieve, but we believe we had a big role in Alan Jones’ sacking, & it feels so good to rid the world of his hate.
To @MrKRudd, @sallymcmanus & a very few others prepared to give us credit, it means a lot. Thank you.— Jennie Hill (@JennieJHill) November 4, 2021
As Georgie Dent wrote back in 2019, the name of the group was inspired by a famous text message Peter Dutton accidentally sent to political editor Samantha Maiden in which he described her as a ‘mad fucking witch’.
On Twitter, the Mad Fucking Witches also recognised the work of Hill, saying without her, “none of this would’ve happened and Alan Jones would still be spreading his bile all over”.
“Australia owes her a great debt and hardly anyone even knows her name. That should change,” it said.
We all owe a huge debt to our fearless, relentless and so-clever founder @JennieJHill. Without her none of this would’ve happened and Alan Jones would still be spreading his bile all over.
— MFW (@MFWitches) November 4, 2021
Australia owes her a great debt and hardly anyone even knows her name. That should change. https://t.co/OwDs5LpYVB