Who is Alan Jones? Sky News host slams Joe Biden, says 'leader of the free world is incoherent'
“Leader of the Free World is incoherent, having to be propped up physically and intellectually,” said Alan Jones on Sky News, speaking about supposed media bias. “After the stumble, the websites of MSNBC, CBS News, the Washington Post, Lost Angeles Times, and the New York Times all had no mention of Biden’s stumbling incident,” Jones added, referring to the US President’s much-talked-about slip with climbing the steps of the Air Force One earlier in March.
“To prove the Trump point, when it came to airtime on television, CNN devoted 15 seconds to the incident”. “But when Trump walked slowly down a ramp after he delivered a graduation address last June, CNN devoted 22 minutes to Trump’s walk, the media pushing the line that Trump -- 74 -- was facing serious health question.”
READ MORE
Who is Alan Jones?
The former coach of the Australia national rugby union team and rugby league coach and administrator, Jones is an Australian radio and television broadcaster with a history of courting controversy. A known climate-change critic, Jones in 2019 referred to Greta Thunberg and her young environmentalist compatriots as “selfish, badly educated, virtue-signaling little turds.”
Jones hosts the flagship opinion show on Sky After Dark and is a sharp critic of Australia's Labor government headed by Prime Minister Daniel Andrews and even New Zealand's PM Jacinda Ardern. He retired from 2GB in May 2020 after a 35-year career before joining Sky News Australia.
Earlier this year, the 79-year-old was forced to publish a correction to his August 2020 editorial railing against Covid-19 restrictions in Victoria on Sky News. The Australian Communications and Media Authority, a broadcasting watchdog, found he had “misrepresented the research” on the effectiveness of masks and lockdowns.
Although the program accurately quoted from the relevant research article, it misrepresented the authors’ position on the effectiveness of mask-wearing outside of healthcare facilities,” ACMA said. “Although it accurately quoted from the relevant research article, it misrepresented the research on the effectiveness of lockdowns.”
Jones also breached broadcasting codes for decency in his use of “violent metaphors” about New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern in 2020. The ACMA ordered the 79-year-old to make an on-air correction about the climate change comments but found he has already apologized for his criticism of Ardern.
The offensive statements included: “I just wonder whether Scott Morrison’s going to be fully briefed to shove a sock down her throat”, “Now I hope Scott Morrison gets tough here with a few backhanders”, and “I hope he goes for the throat this morning.” The infamous broadcast led to an unprecedented advertiser boycott and attracted more than 125 complaints and was found to have “offended against generally accepted community standards of decency”.