Ray Hadley attacks Nine News political editor Chris Uhlmann calling him a ‘sycophant’
SYDNEY shock jock Ray Hadley has launched an attack on Nine News political editor Chris Uhlmann calling him a “sycophant” with clear ties to the Labor Party.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SYDNEY shock jock Ray Hadley has launched an attack on Nine News political editor Chris Uhlmann calling him a “sycophant” with clear ties to the Labor Party.
The comments came after Uhlmann — who is married to a Labor Party politician — unleashed an attack on journalists covering the leadership spill, accusing them of attempting to influence the outcome and declaring war on the Prime Minister.
MORE NEWS:
DUTTON LAUNCHES FRESH STRIKE TO OVERTHROW PM
LIVE UPDATES: DUTTON SAYS HE HAS THE NUMBERS
“Now if they want to be players in this game, which is apparently what they are, and they are working behind the scenes as well as in front of the scenes,” Uhlmann said on Today this morning.
“If they are making phone calls to try to push people over the line they are part of this story … all I am saying if they want to dish it out they should be prepared to take it.”
Uhlmann also personally attacked Hadley and his employer 2GB, as well as News Corp, publisher of The Daily Telegraph.
Hadley took to the airwaves this morning saying Uhlmann lacked “objectivity” and should return to his previous job at the ABC.
“You are a sycophant of the Labor Party because of your very well-known Labor Party connections and how you can appear on a network with any objectivity,” he said.
“I thought he was a journalist and his job was to report the news but I am confused.
“I am a commentator (and) you are supposed to be a journalist so you are better off creeping back to the ABC and staying there.
“It is almost an insult to all the wonderful parliamentary reporters at Channel 9 that you are now the head of (the political section).”
Uhlmann is married to ALP politician Gai Brodtmann and previously worked at the ABC before being scouted by Nine to replace Laurie Oakes last year.
Uhlmann also spoke about the need to hold to account journalists who he alleged had been attempting to influence the leadership spill.
“All the people who are involved in bringing us to this point need to be held to account,” he said.
“When they have crossed that line to want to be players in the game to feed this, they are part of the story.”
However, earlier this morning Uhlmann took to Twitter to call for an early election.
“With Kevin Hogan threatening to sit on the crossbench if Malcolm Turnbull is rolled we are now in the mutually assured destruction phase of this leadership farce. It is time for the Australian people to be given a say on who should be PM,” he wrote.
Daily Telegraph national political editor Sharri Markson told Today this morning that Uhlmann should be able to “tell the difference between a straight news story in a newspaper and advocacy”.
“I am strongly defending my newspaper The Daily Telegraph in response to Chris Uhlmann’s quite disgusting and outrageous attack that we were in anyway players in this,” she said.
“I broke the story in Friday’s newspaper last week.
“I wrote a straight news story that conservative MPs were urging Dutton to seize the leadership and in that story I also had that he was considering it and was torn about what to do and your political editor should be able to tell the difference between a straight news story in a newspaper and advocacy.”