ABC remain tight-lipped after swearing incident by radio newsreader

A veteran radio presenter who was caught swearing obscenities on-air has not returned to the airwaves since.

A veteran radio presenter who was caught repeatedly swearing obscenities while reading a late-night news bulletin has been off air since the incident made headlines.

ABC’s Tim Wharton has been a radio and television presenter for 35 years but got himself into hot water last month when he was heard screaming “f... off” multiple times while reading the 10pm radio news in Adelaide on March 28.

Wharton read the 7am news bulletins the next day in Darwin, Hobart and Brisbane, but it is unclear whether the bulletins were pre-recorded before management learned of the swearing incident.

Media monitoring searches found no record on Wharton on air since then.

Tim Wharton

Despite the on-air gaffe, the public broadcaster has remained tight-lipped about what transpired and would not detail whether any disciplinary action had been taken.

An ABC spokeswoman said they could not discuss the matter due to “privacy”.

“We’re not commenting in the media on internal actions regarding a staff member,” she said.

During the on-air tirade, Wharton sounded frustrated and was stumbling through sentences that did not seem coherent.

“There’s been more problems with Brisbane after a more (sic) COVID restrictions in the city. Here’s the report,” Wharton said on air.

The bulletin then cut away to a reporter delivering the latest Brisbane news then shortly after this Wharton can be heard yelling, “f... off”.

There was then a delay of ­several seconds and he returned ­on-air and before the bulletin cut away to a second story on China and again he was screaming “f... off”.

After a few minutes, a different radio announcer took over the broadcast. Wharton has described himself online as a “versatile reporter/producer and presenter and voice-over artist with over 30 years experience in radio and television”.