Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones

Last updated

Jonestown: The Power and The Myth of Alan Jones
Jonestown.jpg
Author Chris Masters
LanguageEnglish
Subject Alan Jones
Genre Biography
Publisher Allen & Unwin Australia
Publication date
October 2006
Publication placeAustralia
Media typeHardcover
Pages512 (Hardcover edition)
ISBN 978-1-74175-156-7
OCLC 85485455
791.443 22
LC Class PN1991.4.J664 M37 2006

Jonestown: The Power and The Myth of Alan Jones is a 2006 biography of radio personality Alan Jones by Chris Masters. The biography deals in part with Jones's sexuality. Masters asserts that Jones is homosexual, which Jones has never acknowledged. [1] Masters began Jonestown in 2002 after profiling Jones for an episode of the current affairs program Four Corners .

Contents

Awards and nominations

Nominations

The book was nominated for the 2006 Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction for its "depth of research, fluency of narrative and professional engagement". [2]

Awards

The book won the Australian Book Industry Award for Australian Biography of the Year for 2007. [3]

Controversy

On 29 June 2006, ABC Enterprises announced that it was cancelling the publication of Masters' manuscript. ABC Enterprises director Robyn Watts stated that it was because it would "almost certainly result in commercial loss, which would be irresponsible". The statement was widely believed to be a veiled reference to the fact that Jones's lawyers had threatened an expensive defamation lawsuit if the book was published. [4] The ABC program Media Watch reported that the decision to cancel publication had not been made by ABC Enterprises but by the ABC Board. Many ABC personalities criticised the Board's decision, and a petition against the decision circulated, with signatories including ABC radio personalities Richard Glover and Phillip Adams.

During his show on 2UE on 5 July 2006, Mike Carlton, Jones's rival Sydney radio broadcaster, suggested that the book might detail homosexual encounters on Jones's part, [5] and that Jones's lawyers had told the ABC that Masters' material was "replete with false and inappropriate sexual innuendo". [6]

In the introduction to Jonestown, Masters describes Jones as having concealed his sexuality "more for the sake of preserving a dishonest power base" than for reasons of personal privacy, an explanation he repeated later, after he was accused of being motivated by prurience. [7] Masters says that Jones's attempt to mask his sexuality is a defining feature of his personality and provides an explanation for many aspects of his behaviour. In the book's final chapter, Masters quotes a study performed by Roy Morgan Research which reported that "46% of [Jones's] listeners believe that homosexuality is immoral, compared to 35% of all Australians." [8] Masters' attempts to explain so much about Jones by reference to his sexuality caused the commentator Miranda Devine to see his book as homophobic. [9]

The decision of the ABC not to publish the book delayed its release by less than three months, and publisher Allen & Unwin Australia released it in October 2006. The book sold 12,700 copies and earned almost A$600,000 in its first six days after publication, placing it at the top of the best-seller list for its category. [10]

On 20 October 2006, The Sydney Morning Herald published a seven-page edited extract of Jonestown. The extract, with italicised links by former Media Watch host and author David Marr, concentrated mainly on the claims that Jones was homosexual, his behaviour while the senior English master at The King's School at Parramatta in Sydney, and an alleged "cottaging" incident in London. The lead paragraph set out Masters' claim that the masking of his homosexuality is "a defining feature of the Jones persona". [1]

Australian satirical comedy group, The Chaser, said they had a signed copy of Jonestown, which they claimed to be "probably the only signed copy of Jonestown by Alan Jones", and Julian Morrow stated on The Chaser's War on Everything that they intended to "auction it off to raise money for troubled homosexuals". In the Season 2 DVD Commentary track, Morrow and Craig Reucassel confirmed that the book had also been signed by Chris Masters and was sold at auction, with the proceeds given to a child cancer charity. [11]

In a sharply critical review published in The Australian , [12] legal academic David Flint said that "Masters is entitled to investigate and challenge Jones's influence and role, but he is not entitled to intrude into his private life based on purloined correspondence, amateur psychoanalysis and irresponsible journalism. No wonder the ABC board wrote off the public money poured into this vengeful project by the nomenklatura. The result is no credit to its author, its publishers and the two newspapers that featured the most salacious bits." Masters replied to that and other criticisms in an opinion piece in the same newspaper in October 2006. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danna Vale</span> Australian politician

Danna Sue Vale is a former Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she served as Minister for Veterans' Affairs in the Howard government from 2001 to 2004, the first woman to hold the position. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2010, holding the New South Wales seat of Hughes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Laws</span> Australian radio presenter

Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE is a retired Australian radio announcer who had a broadcasting career that spanned 71 years. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname Golden Tonsils.

Miranda Devine is an Australian-American columnist and writer, now based in New York City. She hosted The Miranda Devine Show on Sydney radio station 2GB until it ended in 2015. She has written columns for Fairfax Media newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald, and for News Limited newspapers Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, Melbourne's Sunday Herald Sun, and Perth's Sunday Times. As of 2022, she writes for the New York Post. Some of her political opinion pieces and statements on race, gender, and the environment have been the subject of public scrutiny and debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Taylor (comedian)</span> Australian comedian, writer and radio host

Christopher Thornton Taylor is an Australian comedy writer, performer and broadcaster from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN (2002–2003) and The Chaser's War on Everything. He formerly co-hosted the drive radio show Today Today (2004–05) on Triple J with fellow Chaser member Craig Reucassel, and in 2007, he wrote the musical comedy Dead Caesar. Taylor also hosted the mini documentary series 'Australia's Heritage: National Treasures'. In 2010, with his Chaser colleague Andrew Hansen, Taylor made a musical comedy series for Triple J titled The Blow Parade, which became the number one podcast in the country, and won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release. In 2019, Taylor was the creator and co-writer of the drama Upright starring Tim Minchin. The series screened to critical acclaim in both Australia and the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Reucassel</span> Australian writer and comedian

Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian radio and television presenter and comedian. He is currently the presenter of Breakfast on ABC Radio Sydney.

<i>Media Watch</i> (TV program) Australian media analysis TV program

Media Watch is an television programme from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) dedicated to the analysis and critique of Australian media, including its corporate and political interconnections. The program's most recent host is Paul Barry, with Linton Besser due to begin hosting in February 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Marr (journalist)</span> Australian journalist

David Ewan Marr FAHA is an Australian journalist, author, and progressive political and social commentator. His areas of expertise include the law, Australian politics, censorship, the media, and the arts. He writes for The Monthly, The Saturday Paper, and Guardian Australia. Marr now hosts Late Night Live on ABC's Radio National.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Jones (talkback host)</span> Australian right-wing commentator and former radio broadcaster

Alan Belford Jones is an Australian former talkback host. He is a former coach of the Australia national rugby union team and rugby league coach and administrator. He has worked as a school teacher, a speech writer in the office of the Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, and in musical theatre. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, and completed a one-year teaching diploma at Worcester College, Oxford. He has received civil and industry awards.

David Edward Flint is an Australian legal academic, known for his leadership of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and for his tenure as head of the Australian Broadcasting Authority.

Christopher "Chris" Wayne Masters PSM is a multiple Walkley Award–winning and Logie Award–winning Australian journalist and author.

<i>The Chasers War on Everything</i> Australian television satirical comedy series

The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television station ABC1. It has won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Television Comedy Series. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts. The series is produced by The Chaser, an Australian satirical group consisting of Chris Taylor, Julian Morrow, Craig Reucassel, Andrew Hansen, and Chas Licciardello. Fellow Chaser members Dominic Knight and Charles Firth are not part of the regular on-screen cast. However, Knight is a writer, and Firth compiled roving reports for the show from the United States, until he left the group to start a satirical newspaper in mid-2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chas Licciardello</span> Australian comedian (born 1977)

Charles John "Chas" Licciardello is an Australian comedian and member of satirical team The Chaser. He's currently the co-host, with John Barron, of Planet America on ABC TV and Co-Host of the P.E.P. "Planet Extra" Podcast. Licciardello has appeared as a regular of CNNNN, The Chaser's War on Everything and The Hamster Wheel.

<i>The Monthly</i> Australian publication

The Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Knight</span> Australian comedian and writer

Dominic John Sebastian Knight is an Australian novelist, comedy writer, radio host and media commentator. Best known as a member of the Australian political satire comedy Logie Award–winning group The Chaser, he is also an occasional writer, columnist and blogger for the Sydney Morning Herald, and a former host of Evenings on ABC Local Radio across NSW and the ACT. Along with fellow Sydney University students Charles Firth, Julian Morrow and Craig Reucassel, Knight founded The Chaser newspaper, launched in May 1999.

John Gallagher KC is an Australian barrister. He was a Director of the Board of the public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1999 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Roberts</span> New South Wales politician

Anthony John Roberts is an Australian politician. Roberts is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove for the Liberal Party since 2003. He is the longest-serving Member of the Legislative Assembly and so holds the honorary title of "Father of the House."

The Chaser APEC pranks were a series of comic stunts coordinated and performed by the Australian satire group The Chaser for the television series The Chaser's War on Everything. Pranks were done at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Sydney. The most prominent prank was the breach of an APEC restricted zone in the heart of the Sydney central business district on 6 September. Julian Morrow directed a fake Canadian motorcade, which was allowed through the restricted zone by police and not detected until Chas Licciardello alighted, dressed as Osama bin Laden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Chaser</span> Australian comedy group

The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The group's motto is "Striving for Mediocrity in a World of Excellence".

<i>Lazarus Rising: A Personal and Political Autobiography</i> Memoirs of former Australian prime minister John Howard

Lazarus Rising: A Personal and Political Autobiography is an autobiography of John Howard, the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, who served between 1996 and 2007. Howard was leader of the Liberal Party of Australia between 1985 and 1989, and again between 1995 and 2007.

The Walkley Book Award is an Australian award presented annually by the Walkley Foundation for excellence in long-form journalism and nonfiction, with subjects ranging from biography to true crime to investigative journalism and reporting.

References

  1. 1 2 Marr, David (20 October 2006). "The demons that drive Alan Jones". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  2. ↑ "Jones book pays off in sales and prize shortlist". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 April 2007.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ABIA_Winners_2007]
  4. ↑ ""ABC cans Alan Jones biography after threat to sue"". The Australian, 30 June 2006, p3. ProQuest   357335394 . Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  5. ↑ Welch, Dylan (5 July 2006). "Jones show hits back over Carlton claim". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  6. ↑ "Front Page - The ABC Board And Jonestown". Media Watch . 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  7. ↑ Ricketson, Matthew (23 October 2000). "Masters denies he aimed to 'out' Jones". The Age . Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  8. ↑ Masters, Chris (2006). Jonestown: The Power And The Myth Of Alan Jones. Allen & Unwin. ISBN   174175156X.
  9. ↑ Devine, Miranda (26 October 2006). "A Journalist's Great Shame Exposed". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  10. ↑ "Jones book rakes in $600k". The Australian . 4 November 2006. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
  11. ↑ Episode 2, Season 2: The Chaser's War on Everything ABC
  12. ↑ Flint, David (30 October 2006). "David Flint: Psychosexual treatment of Alan Jones relies on rumours". The Australian. Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  13. ↑ Masters, Chris (30 November 2006). "Book critics silent about Jones's many scandals". The Australian. Archived from the original on 30 November 2006. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.