Jason Morrison (radio Broadcaster)
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Jason Morrison is a conservative Australian talk radio presenter and newspaper columnist.


History

Morrison was born in 1971 and raised in Hornsby, a suburb of Sydney's North. He went to St. Leo's College at Wahroonga and is Catholic. He trained at 2GB in a journalism cadetship programme in 1990 and later qualified at the
Australian Film Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...
. Morrison has spoken of working for Dick Smith Electronics as a salesman while working in radio to boost his income. He studied Electrical Engineering and Law at University but did not complete the degree.


Career


2GB

Morrison's media career started with 2GB in 1989 at the age of 17 as a newsroom cadet and he has subsequently covered news and current affairs in all parts of the country and around the world. In 1998, Morrison was appointed Director of News at 2GB and remains the youngest person to have ever held that position. Between 2008 and 2010, Morrison presented the Drivetime afternoon shift where he consistently held second-place in the market but never broke to number one. He was the regular alternate for Alan Jones for several years and during an extended stint in Jones' breakfast shift actually out-rated him. Morrison told the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' at the time "it was luck and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves". Jones later remarked "I'm not surprised, Jason is hugely talented and one day I won't be here so it's in good hands". In December 2010, Morrison announced that he would be leaving his position at 2GB as host of Drive and move to rival
2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment Co and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the ...
. It was speculated that he had a falling out with fellow presenter Ray Hadley which Morrison denied, "Ray is just being competitive about me leaving. What do you expect him to say, tune in and listen to him. We actually got on fine".


2UE

After three years at 2UE, Jason's contract was terminated at the end of 2013, after allegedly being told his conservative views and style did not fit with the future ideological direction of the Fairfax Media owned radio station. The decision was considered a shock and prompted wide discussion in the media, including by direct rival Ben Fordham who said "2UE has rocks in their heads for getting rid of Morrison". Fordham immediately offered Morrison a segment on his show which he accepted. It was reported Morrison was sanctioned for criticising the board of Fairfax for refusing to allow Gina Rinehart to take up a board position, even though she was the largest single shareholder. The remarks reportedly resulted in legal action against Morrison which was later dropped. It was reported Morrison fell out with 2UE management after siding with controversial presenter Michael Smith who left the station after being prevented from broadcasting allegations about
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
's associations with the Australian Workers Union.


Television

Morrison was chief of staff at the Sydney newsroom of
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
for five years from 2000. He was promoted to Editor but left a year later to return to radio. He regularly appears in short opinion slots of various national morning television shows including '' Sunrise''. He is a regular panelist on '' Paul Murray Live'' on
Sky News Live Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs ...
. In October 2015, Morrison was appointed as news director of ''
Seven News Sydney ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while flagship 6pm bulletins are p ...
'' replacing Chris Willis''.''


Other

In 2014, Morrison began working as an advisor to Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart. Morrison also attempted to gain pre-selection to run as a Liberal Party candidate for the safe seat of Ku-ring-gai ahead of the 2015 NSW state election, but was unsuccessful.


Controversy


Wins long running defamation case

In 2005 while broadcasting on 2GB, Morrison described Sydney Islamic activist
Keysar Trad Keysar Trad is the founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia and is the former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. Background Trad was born in Lebanon and came to Australia at the age of thirteen under ...
as a "gutless and a disgraceful and dangerous individual who incited racism and violence". Trad sued Morrison for defamation. Morrison and 2GB stood by the remarks. Morrison further described Trad as "typical of people who run around smearing others and the moment they are criticised, run to the courts".. The case was won by Morrison and 2GB and described in the media as Australia's longest running defamation case after it went to the NSW Supreme Court, the NSW Court of Appeal,. and the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...
.. Trad was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in costs.


Al Jazeera

In 2015, Morrison made international news when he told a leading British Islamic scholar he was "unfit for civilised society. You are uncivilised" during a televised debate on
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
. The exchange took place during a debate about freedom of the press following the terrorist attack on ''
Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
'' magazine. Morrison argued that people who thought the publishers had brought the attack on themselves: "So, please, spare me the justification garbarge for these terrorists being upset and just responding to provocation. If you think they were even slightly justified for killing people who drew some pictures, then I'm afraid you are over in their column."


Awards

In 2007, Morrison received the Brian White Memorial award recognising sustained journalistic achievement. In 2009 he again received the same award, the only time it has been awarded to the same person twice.


Personal life

Morrison is married and lives in Carlingford. He has three children. He joined the staff of the Sydney ''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' in December 2013 as a columnist. Morrison is a contributor to New Zealand radio station Radio Live. He is a founding director of the medical charity Biaggio Signorelli Foundation. He holds an
amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
licence and has built the studios of two community radio stations as a hobby.


References


External links


Jason Morrison's Twitter feed


{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Jason 1971 births Living people Australian Film Television and Radio School alumni Former 2GB presenters