Firms pull advertising on Alan Jones show

1 Oct 2012, 5:25 pm   -   Source: AAP

Major firms have pulled advertising from broadcaster Alan Jones's radio show following comments he made about the prime minister's father.

RELATED

Woolworths and Mercedes-Benz have joined other corporate heavyweights in pulling their advertising from Alan Jones's radio show after the broadcaster's comments about the prime minister's late father.

Also responding to community outrage, two regional radio stations pulled the plug on Jones's networked show after he said Julia Gillard's father "died of shame" because of her "lies".

By late Monday, more than 39,000 people had signed up to an online campaign calling for Jones to be sacked and urging companies to boycott his show.

Financial services group Challenger, Freedom Furniture, Bing Lee, Dilmah tea, ING Direct have also announced they are withdrawing advertising and sponsorship of the breakfast program.

Woolworths posted on its Facebook site that it had decided to suspend advertising and in no way supported the comments.

The food giant also responded to reports that its community relations manager, Simon Berger, had donated a chaff bag jacket that was bought by Mr Jones at the Liberal Party function where he made the remarks.

The jacket, a reference to Jones's controversial 2011 suggestion that Ms Gillard should be stuffed in a chaff bag and thrown into the sea, was auctioned during the fundraiser.

"We've acknowledged that a staff member, in a private capacity, attended the Young Liberals function," Woolworths said.

Jones has publicly apologised for using his speech to a Sydney University Liberal Club fundraiser to make the comments about Ms Gillard and her father, who died last month aged 83.

"Challenger does not feel the apology made by Alan Jones reflects the gravity of the offensiveness of the comments," a company spokesman said in a statement.

Mercedes-Benz Australia instructed its dealers to cease advertising on Jones's show.

"We don't associate our brand with that," said corporate communications manager David McCarthy.

Also on Monday, regional radio station 2QN, based in Deniliquin in the NSW Riverina, and Albury station 2AY discontinued their broadcasts of Jones's show following negative feedback from listeners.

The comments by Jones, who has vigorously campaigned against coal seam gas (CSG) development in NSW, also led to his dumping as a speaker at an anti-CSG concert in northern NSW.

Michael McNamara, an organiser of the Rock the Gate Northern Rivers concert, said threats had been made to boycott the event if it was attended by Jones.

It was not the threats that prompted the withdrawal of the invitation but Jones's "abhorrent" comments, Mr McNamara said in a statement.

The remarks, published on Sunday, have sparked outrage on social media and were swiftly condemned by politicians on all sides.

Others offered him tentative support.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman commended the broadcaster's "guts" for publicly apologising to Ms Gillard and said he wouldn't have a problem appearing on his radio show.

But Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said the remarks went to the dark heart of the Liberal Party.

"(It) says anything goes, engages in personal abuse day in and day out, (and) is particularly strong in its abuse against women," he said.

He also described as "pathetic" the brief statement Opposition Leader Tony Abbott put out in response to the comments.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube