A Misogynist Comment !

" Shock  Jock  " Alan Jones chose to target the prime minister of our closest ally across the Tasman when he suggested that Scott Morrison should "  shove a sock down her throat ".   Apart from the crudity, that remark would probably have gone unchallenged except that the target of his ire is a woman.

Jacinda  Ardern was a surprise appointment when New Zealand's election  delivered a change of government and this young woman became one of the few world leaders to have a child while holding her country's top job.   She is also one of the few women to appear in the lineup of powerful men who represent the nations of the world at power forums.

A lot of anger has been vented at the internet and the Facebook phenomenon for the distribution of fake news to influence the way we think but before this electronic marvel burst on the scene we had that old perennial - the radio, and with that came influence changers like Alan Jones.

In the world of radio the presenters live or die according to their standing in " the ratings ", and that depends on how many listeners they draw each time they go to air.   Alan Jones draws listeners to his station because he is controversial. He deliberately goes out of his way to inflame public opinion because that is the bait that gets listeners to tune to his radio station.

What is surprising is that Jones if still drawing audiences.  That shock jock era was back in the latter half of the twentieth century and in that era he did battle with a man named John Laws.  Laws was probably the more famous and was widely known as the " Golden microphone ".  It was not uncommon for either to be threatened with law suits for what they were saying publicly on air.

The older generation may remember the day when a chance comment suggested that a big building society was in financial trouble and might soon be closing its doors.  That was taken so seriously that within an hour queues were forming outside branches and citizens desperately sought to withdraw their money.   It became evident that a " run on the bank " was in progress and it took New South Wales premier, Neville Wran speaking to the crowds with a loud speaker to assure them that their money was safe.

It seems that this misogynist comment by Jones drew a response from station management and he has been told that a repeat could see his contract terminated. Jones is on dangerous ground when he insults the powerful women's movement.  Political affinity is put aside whenever a woman attains a position of power and the sisterhood rallies to her defence.  It will be interesting to see what effect this has on his listening audiences.