Steve Price spray after 1999 Southern Cross AGM
January 14, 2008
This is what former 3AW shock jock Steve Price told his listeners just hours after the Southern Cross Broadcasting AGM in November 1999.
Finally, at this company's annual general meeting today, some fairy tale theories were posed as questions by ex-Liberal staffer and failed prospective Burwood candidate Stephen Mayne. Mayne was dopey enough to try and stand in the state election only to discover he was ineligible because he was on the electoral roll in Sydney. He had a famous stoush with Neil Mitchell during the campaign.
He now writes a column in the boutique magazine The Eye. One of his sources of gossip is to buy shares and to attend shareholder meetings. He was at the News Corp meeting in Adelaide this week. Today Mayne tried to suggest 3AW's ratings are about to slide because Jeff Kennett is no longer Premier. How he argues that our success is dependent on who is Premier wasn't clear. Mr Mayne then bizarrely tried to link Jeff Kennett, our chairman, Peter Nixon, director, John Dahlsen, Coodabeen Champion Ian Cover and former panel operator Bernard Finn in some conservative conspiracy.
I wasn't there today, neither was Neil Mitchell, who was on air at the time. But if Stephen Mayne, because of his run-in with Neil Mitchell during the election, is trying to suggest we somehow run with the Liberals because a panel operator once was a member of parliament or because our chairman was a federal National Party MP or one of our directors sat on a government committee, then he believes in fairies at the bottom of the garden.
Stephen Mayne ought to just listen to 3AW. Neil and I don't take our riding instructions from anyone. We've never suffered interference or been offered instructions about political coverage by anyone. Not by our managing director, Tony Bell, not by our board of directors. As late as today our chairman, Peter Nixon, again stressed the on-air people at 3AW have and always have had editorial independence.
3AW will not change at all because Jeff Kennett is no longer Premier and for Stephen Mayne to ask such ludicrous questions is a waste of his time and everyone else's. You need to look elsewhere for your conspiracies, Stephen.
And a tip; you shouldn't hold grudges.
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