How the bosses dealt with ‘the Jones episode’

The 2 bosses of the Macquarie Radio Network have spoken to The Australian today about their challenging time dealing with the Alan Jones social media backlash.

Russell Tate and Rob Loewenthal have openly discussed what happened behind the scenes, from the moment the news of Jones' remarks became public, through to the decision they made to remove all advertising from the top rating breakfast show.

Loewenthal says:

"We realised we needed time to communicate with our clients in a period where they wouldn't have a gun to their head. So we said, 'We're going to take away the decision that you don't want to make, whether you stay or go, and try to find a solution for you that stops the ambush of your business'.

"The other part of it, a major consideration from my point of view, was getting on the front foot," says Tate. "Or at least not being on the back foot. Because that's where we were. We were just sitting there."

What was the immediate reaction like after they removed all advertising from Jones' show ?

"It was about 50-50. We were either geniuses or boofheads. At least 50 per cent of the people said, 'You're a complete dickhead, you've done exactly the wrong thing; this is a disaster'."

What does Tate believe the campaigners were thinking after the bold move ?

"I'm pretty sure they all scratched their heads and thought, 'What the f . . . was that?' " he says. "We took away their targets."

Tate even admits that: "In the last week I've had three or four people ask me to go and talk to (their companies) about how to deal with social media. I will not be charging them, I can tell you."

The full article is definitely worth a read. Check it out in The Australian here