Anti-Alan Jones campaign axed amid victory claims

By By Amy Kellow | 12 December 2012
 
The organisers behind the 'Sack Alan Jones' campaign have terminated the push due to the belief it has been successful in removing Jones' power.

The organisers of the 'Sack Alan Jones' social media campaign have called time on the popular push, arguing it has been successful in destroying the "invincible" perception and power of the shock jock.

The campaign was sparked by Jones' remarks earlier this year that Julia Gillard's late father "died of shame" because of her "political lies", and rallied for Jones' advertisers to boycott the station.

Its Facebook page amassed over 21,000 likes and was supported by a Change.org petition and a long-running hashtag on Twitter.

The organisers of the push, Nic Lochner and Vinay Orekondy, have this morning terminated the campaign due to the belief it had crushed Jones' powerful and "invincible" image and was thus no longer necessary.

They said in a statement: "Thanks to your efforts, that image of Jones' invincibility has been completely broken. You have forcefully demonstrated that Australia rejects his methods, and in no way can he be seen as the voice of the majority. He has his listeners, but politicians now understand that Jones does not speak to swing voters; rather, he preaches to the converted who already share his particular political beliefs.

"He certainly cannot be called the voice of big business anymore, after over 85 advertisers abandoned his show, including most of Australia’s leading brands and many international brands as well.

"Stripped of his influence, his capacity to damage the Australian community has been severely limited, and will simply fade over time.

"With Alan Jones well and truly held to account, we believe the time has come to formally declare this part of the campaign to be over. We believe that this is the correct decision both strategically and morally. We know that some of you would wish to continue until Alan Jones is directly forced off the air, indeed, the name of this page might suggest as much.

"However, when we started this page, we were simply two powerless individuals making a helpless, angry cry out into cyberspace. We expected perhaps 150 likes at most and maybe a few hundred signatories on the petition, and no actual results.

"When it became clear that we were representing the opinion of the majority of Australians, we realised over time that certain responsibilities came with that, including conducting this campaign in a manner which corresponds with Australia’s fundamental values."

The organisers however assured supporters they would re-instate the campaign if Jones was to make further derogatory remarks, but claimed this was unlikely as 2GB and ACMA were monitoring him.

"Some of you will no doubt want more concrete assurance that he will not return to making destructive commentary that is, bullying, personal attacks, or attacks based on race or gender," they said.

"We will be listening closely to see if these occur again. If they do, this campaign can be reactivated within minutes. All it would take would be the creation of a new petition, and with one email we could promote it to all 115,000+ signatories of the current petition, many of whom would gladly re-sign and pass it on.

"However we believe such an action will be unnecessary, not only is 2GB management likely to keep him in line, but as mentioned, our public institutions like ACMA are now willing to as well.

"This is indeed a true sign of victory, for it proves that nobody is above the law. Public interest can be a fickle and unreliable thing, so having strong public regulators is an important part of the picture."

They also claimed the campaign had destroyed the model of the "shock jock" and had "dramatically improved" Jones' remarks.

"Alan Jones’ model has long been seen as something to aspire to; it has now seen as a 20th Century relic. After this, we will never see the ‘shock jock’ model replicated ever again.

"Perhaps most importantly, we have noticed a dramatic improvement in Alan Jones’ style of commentary recently his wording is far more careful than in the past, and has steered away entirely from the personal attacks which he has been so infamous for."

Lochner and Orekondy also thanked the supporters and urged consumers to continue voicing their opinions.

Jones issued a public apology at the height of the furore.

The backlash saw several major advertisers including McDonald's and 7Eleven pull their support from Jones' show and the 2GB network, causing the network to temporarily suspend all its advertising. Many advertisers have now returned.

The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) also ruled Jones' remarks must undergo fact-checking before being put to air.

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