Showbiz

Radio Scandal: Cleavage Trick and Tears Uncovered

What I saw in the news this week sent a quiet inner rage boiling to the surface.There he was - an ageing, blustering radio boss barging onto the stage at a radi...

Radio Scandal: Cleavage Trick and Tears Uncovered
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Bintano News

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What I saw in the news this week sent a quiet inner rage boiling to the surface.

There he was - an ageing, blustering radio boss barging onto the stage at a radio awards night, seemingly desperate to hijack the spotlight from his female employee who had just won an award she said she had 'worked her entire life for'. 

This, reportedly, is the same woman he had told didn't have a chance of winning in her category - moments before she did.

It seems that seeing her win wasn't enough; he had to seize the spotlight for himself.

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He barrelled in with what can only be called an aggressively over-the-top hug and, as if that public humiliation wasn't sufficient, reached and grabbed her bottom.

All in front of a room packed with colleagues, guests and her husband. You can hear the gasps in the footage.

It has been two years since Daily Mail columnist Jana Hocking (pictured) left radio after a decade in production and publicity. She says little has changed 

He then threw his hands into the air like he'd just kicked the winning goal at the MCG and jumped off the stage.

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But radio's moment wasn't over yet.

Moments later, I stumbled on a 'guess who don't sue' blind item about a famously hot-headed radio presenter who was back to his usual tricks.

This time, he was lashing a producer, allegedly barking: 'You'll never work again.'

One quick group text and the answer pinged back: yes, it was exactly who we thought it was. The least surprising name in radio.

This wasn't some one-off outburst - this guy's notorious for it.

Frankly, he seems to relish belittling his staff.

If it happened in the bedroom, they'd call it a kink.

'My time on Triple M's Grill Team was some of the best years of my life. And strangely, it's the footy players that turned out to be the most respectful.' (Jana is seen with the Grill Team. None of the people shown was involved in the poor conduct Jana witnessed during her radio career)

Presenter Cheralyn Darcey being groped on stage after receiving an award was just one of three disappointing incidents in the world of radio this week

'Radio isn't the victim of the podcast age, as everyone keeps ranting on about. It's the victim of its own refusal to grow up,' writes Jana (pictured during her Triple M days)

He wasn't the only one. Another former male boss who would get people to slow-clap me on the days I wore a skirt to the office. 

Because apparently showing your kneecaps turns some old-school radio buffoons into slobbering schoolboys.

And in the spirit of equality, I'll admit that not all the angels had wings - a few of the women had horns too.

In my very early years in radio, one female presenter who'd been working the brutal breakfast shift for too many years, completely snapped.

She literally locked me in a room and refused to let me leave until we had 'sorted out our differences'. 

I had to call my boss - who was literally in the next room - and whisper 'please help' into the phone like I was negotiating a hostage situation.

I look back now and laugh at the memory of my boss coming to my rescue. But at the time? Not so much.

My time in radio was truly a ride.

And seeing that, after all this time, nothing has really changed - that's the most depressing part of all. 

Radio isn't the victim of the podcast age, as everyone keeps ranting on about.

It's the victim of its own refusal to grow up. 

But not all is lost dear reader. Triple M Sydney is now run by Laura Bouchet, who was once in the trenches with me. 2DAY FM Sydney is currently being steered to (hopefully) brighter days under the leadership of Amanda Lee, and even ARN is seeing a turning of the guard with Kerri Elstub now in charge.

Plus, I'm hearing amazing things from the new head of Triple M Nationally, Matt O'Reilly.

Maybe Radio isn't dead, it just needed an out-with-the-old policy.

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