Retired radio star Alan Jones takes on new TV role at Sky News
Just weeks after hanging up his microphone after decades of talkback radio, Alan Jones has signed a new television contract with Sky News. The deal was struck over a lunch of “snapper and garden greens” at the his Fitzroy Falls property the day before he signed off for the last time from radio station 2GB.
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Five weeks after closing the studio door on his remarkable 35-year eastern state radio career, Alan Jones has signed with Sky News in a deal that will see the broadcaster present his views to television audiences nationally four nights a week.
Jones signed off on the deal with Sky News CEO Paul Whittaker and Sky’s head of programming Mark Calvert on Thursday and spent the balance of the day recording promo spots for his new one-hour prime-time show which will run Monday to Thursday at 8pm from July 6.
The expert commentator confirmed the approach from Sky to increase his workload and appear four nights has been on the table since he joined the network in 2014.
“Way back when they asked me to do Sky — and I was still doing radio — they asked for four nights a week and I said ‘you’re kidding me’, but circumstances change and I felt the time was right now,” Jones told The Sunday Telegraph.
The deal to extend Jones’s commitment was struck over a lunch of “snapper and garden greens” at the his Fitzroy Falls property on May 28, the day before he signed off for the last time from radio station 2GB.
“Paul and Mark came down to the farm to see me,” Jones said.
“Paul was very enthusiastic so I said ‘righto’. It’s a fairly severe commitment and I think there are high expectations but I’ll just do what I normally do.
“It’s a privilege to be asked to work with such a strong and committed team.”
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The veteran broadcaster admitted he was a little nervous about the expanded program, which replaces Chris Kenny’s Kenny On Media on Monday nights and Chris Smith Tonight on Thursdays and sees Jones go solo on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when he would normally be paired with Peta Credlin and Graham Richardson.
Kenny, Richardson, Credlin and Smith remain valuable to Sky and will stay in other roles on the channel, according to Calvert.
Despite the nerves — and some vocal critics — Jones said he won’t compromise on the opinionated style for which he is famous.
“There are major issues that need to be addressed and the conservative voices are, I suppose, very much in the minority,” he said. “People have written to me … and in all the correspondence it’s clear people don’t have any answers and so we’ll be addressing that and informing them and keeping them entertained as well.”
He added he continued to have “free rein” over the content and would continue to ask friends such as One Nation politician Mark Latham and writer and activist Catherine McGregor to join him regularly.