John Laws
Encyclopedia
Richard John Sinclair "John" Laws, CBE
(born 8 August 1935), an Australia
n radio presenter, sometimes known as Lawsie, was from the 1970s until his retirement in 2007, the host of a hugely successful morning radio program, which mixed music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname the Golden Tonsils.
Despite retiring in 2007, Laws' management confirmed in November 2010 that he would be returning to radio in February 2011, as the host of a morning programme on 2SM
and the Super Radio Network
.
, with his popular catchphrase "Valvoline, you know what I mean" and Oral-B
toothbrushes (the slogan "Oral-B, the toothbrush more dentists use.")
Laws was on Australian talk radio longer than any other broadcaster and as a result of his popularity, for many years he has been cited as Australia's highest-paid radio personality. Although he commented regularly on topical news, Laws did not consider himself a journalist, saying he considered himself foremost to be an entertainer and salesman. Laws had become one of the most influential media personalities in Australia over the last three decades, and one of the few commercial radio personalities whose interviews with state and federal political leaders are considered to have a significant influence of the course of politics in New South Wales
especially, and Australia in general.
, Laws was educated at Mosman Preparatory School
and Knox Grammar School
in Sydney
, Australia. He began his radio career in 1953 at 3BO in Bendigo
before working at several rural radio station
s prior to joining 2UE
in 1957, the first of four terms at that Sydney radio station, during which time Laws, (along with Bob Rogers
, Tony Withersand Stan Rofe
) became prominent as one of the first Australian disc jockey
s to play rock'n'roll music. Laws is said to have pioneered the practice (soon taken up by Rofe) of using contacts in the airline industry to supply him with the latest pop releases from overseas, a facility which gave him an edge at a time when many pop records were not released in Australia until weeks or even months after being issued overseas.
Laws left 2UE two years later, and moved for a time to the Hunter Valley
, where he ran a farm. In 1962 he moved back to Sydney where he joined 2GB
, remaining with the station for two years before he rejoined 2UE in 1964. His stint at 2UE continued until 1969, at which point Laws joined 2UW's line-up and remained there for 10 years. He returned to 2UE in 1979, this time for another five years. He then moved to 2GB after a highly publicised bid for his services, but returned to the 2UE fold when the station was number eight in the ratings. The return of Laws was the primary cause of the station then being number one in Sydney for many years. Laws' radio program was syndicated nationwide, with it especially popular in rural areas. Capital city stations taking Laws include 4BC
in Brisbane
, 2CC
in Canberra
, 101.7 HOFM in Hobart
and Mix 1049 in Darwin
.
1998 saw Laws make the move to television, with John Laws – In One Lifetime on Network Ten
and LAWS on Foxtel
. While LAWS continued until 2000, John Laws – In One Lifetime was dropped after two episodes – although the remaining five episodes that were commissioned by Network 10 were aired later that year. (The Network 10 show was parodied for a title of the skit "John Laws: In One Bucket" on the Martin/Molloy
's 1998 comedy album Eat Your Peas
).
However, his appeal began to wane. In 2002, station colleague and archrival Alan Jones
moved from 2UE to 2GB, and soon took that station to the top talk position in Sydney.
Laws also has recorded numerous albums (mostly of Australian country music
), and has written several best selling books.
Laws' last broadcast was on 30 November 2007, one week after the federal election. He began as always, "Hello world, I'm John Laws" and signed off with his usual quote, 'you...be kind to each other.' He then left the 2UE building in Sydney in his distinctive Rolls Royce Phantom surrounded by hordes of cameramen.
In August, 2009, Laws revealed on Vega (now known as Classic Rock) that he missed radio and that he was interested in returning to the airwaves. This was followed five months later by an announcement by Laws' manager, revealing that Laws had entered into negotiations with a number of radio stations, including 2SM
. Nevertheless, the suggestions that laws would be returning from retirement in 2010 ended shortly thereafter, when 2UE management revealed that their contract with Laws precluding him from competing with their station until December, 2010.
He currently presents a morning programme on 2SM
and the Super Radio Network
.
, Optus
, Foxtel
, Mirvac, Telstra
and major Australian banks, without disclosing this arrangement to listeners. Media Watch also revealed that Laws had evidently pursued a policy of making repeated unfavourable comments, most notably about the state of the Australian banking industry, but that Laws' stance had dramatically reversed after the signing of secret agreements with businesses which he had previously criticised. The Australian Broadcasting Authority
estimated the value of these arrangements at $18 million and found Laws, Jones, and 2UE to have committed 90 breaches of the industry code and five breaches of 2UE's license conditions.
In 2004, both Jones (now at 2GB) and Laws were accused of cash for comment again, after entering into similar deals with Telstra
. The ABA subsequently found that Laws' deal constituted cash for comment but Jones' did not.
Laws, apparently angered by what he saw as inequitable treatment, launched stinging attacks on Jones and the ABA's head, David Flint
. In an appearance on the ABC's
Enough Rope
, Laws accused Jones of placing pressure on Prime Minister John Howard
to keep Flint as head of the ABA, made comments that many viewers took to imply a sexual relationship between Jones and Flint, and broadly hinted that Jones and Flint were homosexual.
In November 2004, Laws and 2UE colleague Steve Price
were found guilty of vilifying homosexuals
after an on-air discussion about a gay couple appearing in the reality TV show The Block. They described the gay couple as "young poofs". Laws had previously apologised for another incident in which he called gay TV personality Carson Kressley
, of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame, a 'pillow-biter' and a 'pompous little pansy prig'.
In August 2007 Laws was again embroiled in controversy after suggesting on-air that "Chinese drivers are probably the worst drivers on the face of the earth." Despite such comments, he denied that he was a racist
.
Several community radio stations in regional areas began re-broadcasting the John Laws show circa 2000. Whilst not directly targeting John Laws, this focussed the attention of the ABA onto these stations, for potentially breaching the BSA, and Codes of Practice. Several ABA investigations were held, many finding breaches by the community stations.
In October 2007, West Coast Eagles
player Adam Selwood
commenced legal proceedings against Laws over comments made about him regarding a mid-year incident involving Fremantle Football Club
player Des Headland
.
In December 2007, during a long lunch at Sydney's Otto Ristorante to farewell his former personal assistant, he was informed of the presence of rival broadcasters Derryn Hinch
and Bob Rogers
at another restaurant nearby. Laws went over to their table and immediately began to spout forth a tirade of invective calling them 'the two most despicable cunts' he'd ever met in the industry. Hinch and Laws traded insults with Laws insisting Hinch was a 'hypocrite' and a 'failed alcoholic'. Hinch replied that that must mean Laws was a 'successful one' and that if Laws wasn't in fact an alcoholic then he was a 'bloody good actor'. Eventually 2UE colleague Mike Carlton
convinced Laws to return to his table at Otto and Hinch and Rogers were left to laugh off the altercation.
On 7 May 2009 Laws made a statement on the 20th anniversary special edition of the ABC's Media Watch program, in which he exhibited no remorse for his role in the Cash-for-Comment scandal, instead implying that the whistleblower (Media Watch) was the wrongdoer and that the people involved were only jealous of his success.
. The portrait was hung in Laws' production office at 2UE.
Former Australian Prime Minister
Paul Keating
called him the "broadcaster of the century" at Laws 40th anniversary dinner.
He has been immortalised as the topic of a song by Australian comedian-singer Kevin Bloody Wilson
called "Hello John".
Laws subsequently switched to another gold plated microphone; a Rode NT2-A presented to him for his 40th anniversary and has promised charges will not be laid if the Sennheiser is returned.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 8 August 1935), an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n radio presenter, sometimes known as Lawsie, was from the 1970s until his retirement in 2007, the host of a hugely successful morning radio program, which mixed music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname the Golden Tonsils.
Despite retiring in 2007, Laws' management confirmed in November 2010 that he would be returning to radio in February 2011, as the host of a morning programme on 2SM
2SM
2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, New South Wales, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group...
and the Super Radio Network
Broadcast Operations Group
Owned by Bill Caralis, Broadcast Operations Group operates a number of radio stations in northern New South Wales & southern Queensland, Australia. These are collectively known as the "Super Radio Network"...
.
Career
Laws' radio show was syndicated throughout Australia for many years and was consistently one of the most popular and influential programs in the Australian media. Laws is also a familiar voice for generations of Australians through his large and varied body of work as a voice-over artist for commercials, and as a celebrity endorser of commercial products, notably Valvoline motor oilMotor oil
Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.Motor oils are derived from...
, with his popular catchphrase "Valvoline, you know what I mean" and Oral-B
Oral-B
Oral-B is a popular brand of oral hygiene products, including toothbrushes, toothpastes, mouthwashes and dental floss.It all started with a dentist, back in 1950, who created the first Oral-B toothbrush and its soft, end-rounded nylon bristles. Dr. Robert Hutson, a California periodontist, designed...
toothbrushes (the slogan "Oral-B, the toothbrush more dentists use.")
Laws was on Australian talk radio longer than any other broadcaster and as a result of his popularity, for many years he has been cited as Australia's highest-paid radio personality. Although he commented regularly on topical news, Laws did not consider himself a journalist, saying he considered himself foremost to be an entertainer and salesman. Laws had become one of the most influential media personalities in Australia over the last three decades, and one of the few commercial radio personalities whose interviews with state and federal political leaders are considered to have a significant influence of the course of politics in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
especially, and Australia in general.
Biography
Born in Wau, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, Laws was educated at Mosman Preparatory School
Mosman Preparatory School
Mosman Church of England Preparatory School is an all-boys school in Mosman, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The school was founded in 1904. It is based on the UK preparatory school system.-History:...
and Knox Grammar School
Knox Grammar School
Knox Grammar School is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Wahroonga, an upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia. He began his radio career in 1953 at 3BO in Bendigo
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
before working at several rural radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s prior to joining 2UE
2UE
2UE is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by Fairfax Media. It is Sydney's and Australia's oldest commercial radio station, first broadcasting on 26 January 1925 on 1025 kHz AM before moving to 950 kHz in 1935 when virtually all Australian radio stations were assigned new...
in 1957, the first of four terms at that Sydney radio station, during which time Laws, (along with Bob Rogers
Bob Rogers (disc jockey)
Bob Rogers OAM is an Australian disc jockey and radio broadcaster. He currently presents the Bob Rogers Show, Monday to Friday between 9am-12 noon and the 6-hour Saturday evening Reminiscing program on Sydney radio station 2CH....
, Tony Withersand Stan Rofe
Stan Rofe
Stan 'The Man' Rofe was Melbourne's first and most influential rock'n'roll disc jockey. He is remembered as playing the first rock and roll music on Melbourne radio 3KZ in 1956 and as a champion of Australian music, a pioneer who played songs other DJs were too scared to play.-Career:Stan Rofe...
) became prominent as one of the first Australian disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s to play rock'n'roll music. Laws is said to have pioneered the practice (soon taken up by Rofe) of using contacts in the airline industry to supply him with the latest pop releases from overseas, a facility which gave him an edge at a time when many pop records were not released in Australia until weeks or even months after being issued overseas.
Laws left 2UE two years later, and moved for a time to the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
, where he ran a farm. In 1962 he moved back to Sydney where he joined 2GB
2GB
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting on 873 kHz, AM. It is one of Australia's most popular talk-back radio stations, and is the number one station in Sydney.-History:The station commenced broadcasting in August 1926...
, remaining with the station for two years before he rejoined 2UE in 1964. His stint at 2UE continued until 1969, at which point Laws joined 2UW's line-up and remained there for 10 years. He returned to 2UE in 1979, this time for another five years. He then moved to 2GB after a highly publicised bid for his services, but returned to the 2UE fold when the station was number eight in the ratings. The return of Laws was the primary cause of the station then being number one in Sydney for many years. Laws' radio program was syndicated nationwide, with it especially popular in rural areas. Capital city stations taking Laws include 4BC
4BC
4BC is a radio station in Brisbane, Queensland on 1116kHz AM. 4BC is Brisbane's only commercial talkback station, using the promotional phrase "News Talk 1116". Like most talk radio stations, it caters to a predominantly conservative audience...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, 2CC
2CC
2CC is a commercial radio station on the AM band in Canberra, Australia. It originally began broadcasting on 1210 kHz in 1975 changing to 1206 kHz in 1978. It is jointly owned by regional radio operators Capital Radio Network and Grant Broadcasters....
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, 101.7 HOFM in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and Mix 1049 in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
.
1998 saw Laws make the move to television, with John Laws – In One Lifetime on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
and LAWS on Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
. While LAWS continued until 2000, John Laws – In One Lifetime was dropped after two episodes – although the remaining five episodes that were commissioned by Network 10 were aired later that year. (The Network 10 show was parodied for a title of the skit "John Laws: In One Bucket" on the Martin/Molloy
Martin/Molloy
Martin/Molloy was an Australian radio program starring Tony Martin and Mick Molloy, both formerly of The D-Generation and The Late Show. It was broadcast nationwide on 54 radio stations for two hours on weekday evenings between 1995 and 1998....
's 1998 comedy album Eat Your Peas
Eat Your Peas
Eat Your Peas is the third and final compilation double-album of material taken from the popular Australian radio show Martin/Molloy, with comedians Tony Martin and Mick Molloy...
).
However, his appeal began to wane. In 2002, station colleague and archrival Alan Jones
Alan Jones (radio broadcaster)
Alan Belford Jones AO is an Australian radio broadcaster, former rugby union and rugby league coach and administrator.Jones hosts Sydney's most popular breakfast radio program, on radio station 2GB...
moved from 2UE to 2GB, and soon took that station to the top talk position in Sydney.
Laws also has recorded numerous albums (mostly of Australian country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
), and has written several best selling books.
Retirement announcement
After 55 years on air Laws announced on 25 June 2007 that he would retire at the end of the year. He was trumped though by other media agencies who broke the story at 9:00am. Laws made the announcement at about 9:10am, saying that he had planned to make the announcement at about 9:45am.Laws' last broadcast was on 30 November 2007, one week after the federal election. He began as always, "Hello world, I'm John Laws" and signed off with his usual quote, 'you...be kind to each other.' He then left the 2UE building in Sydney in his distinctive Rolls Royce Phantom surrounded by hordes of cameramen.
In August, 2009, Laws revealed on Vega (now known as Classic Rock) that he missed radio and that he was interested in returning to the airwaves. This was followed five months later by an announcement by Laws' manager, revealing that Laws had entered into negotiations with a number of radio stations, including 2SM
2SM
2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, New South Wales, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group...
. Nevertheless, the suggestions that laws would be returning from retirement in 2010 ended shortly thereafter, when 2UE management revealed that their contract with Laws precluding him from competing with their station until December, 2010.
Return to radio
Laws' management confirmed in November 2010 that he would be returning to radio, following the expiry of the no-compete clause that prevented him from signing with a new network.He currently presents a morning programme on 2SM
2SM
2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, New South Wales, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group...
and the Super Radio Network
Broadcast Operations Group
Owned by Bill Caralis, Broadcast Operations Group operates a number of radio stations in northern New South Wales & southern Queensland, Australia. These are collectively known as the "Super Radio Network"...
.
Controversies
In 1999, Laws became a central figure in what has become known as the Cash-for-Comment scandal. During the year, the ABC TV current affairs program Media Watch revealed that Laws and rival talk-back host Alan Jones (then also at 2UE) had been paid to give favourable comments by companies including QantasQantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
, Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Mirvac, Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
and major Australian banks, without disclosing this arrangement to listeners. Media Watch also revealed that Laws had evidently pursued a policy of making repeated unfavourable comments, most notably about the state of the Australian banking industry, but that Laws' stance had dramatically reversed after the signing of secret agreements with businesses which he had previously criticised. The Australian Broadcasting Authority
Australian Broadcasting Authority
The Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications....
estimated the value of these arrangements at $18 million and found Laws, Jones, and 2UE to have committed 90 breaches of the industry code and five breaches of 2UE's license conditions.
In 2004, both Jones (now at 2GB) and Laws were accused of cash for comment again, after entering into similar deals with Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
. The ABA subsequently found that Laws' deal constituted cash for comment but Jones' did not.
Laws, apparently angered by what he saw as inequitable treatment, launched stinging attacks on Jones and the ABA's head, David Flint
David Flint
Professor David Flint, AM, LLM , BSc , DSU is an Australian legal academic, known for his leadership of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and for his tenure as head of the Australian Broadcasting Authority.-Background:...
. In an appearance on the ABC's
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
Enough Rope
Enough Rope
Enough Rope with Andrew Denton is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC Television in Australia...
, Laws accused Jones of placing pressure on Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
to keep Flint as head of the ABA, made comments that many viewers took to imply a sexual relationship between Jones and Flint, and broadly hinted that Jones and Flint were homosexual.
In November 2004, Laws and 2UE colleague Steve Price
Steve Price (broadcaster)
Steve Price is a radio broadcaster currently working as program director and breakfast presenter on Melbourne talkback radio station MTR 1377...
were found guilty of vilifying homosexuals
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
after an on-air discussion about a gay couple appearing in the reality TV show The Block. They described the gay couple as "young poofs". Laws had previously apologised for another incident in which he called gay TV personality Carson Kressley
Carson Kressley
Carson Lee Kressley was the fashion expert on the American television program Queer Eye, where he was one of the show's "Fab Five" members. He is also the motivational host of the TV show How to Look Good Naked.-Biography:...
, of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame, a 'pillow-biter' and a 'pompous little pansy prig'.
In August 2007 Laws was again embroiled in controversy after suggesting on-air that "Chinese drivers are probably the worst drivers on the face of the earth." Despite such comments, he denied that he was a racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
.
Several community radio stations in regional areas began re-broadcasting the John Laws show circa 2000. Whilst not directly targeting John Laws, this focussed the attention of the ABA onto these stations, for potentially breaching the BSA, and Codes of Practice. Several ABA investigations were held, many finding breaches by the community stations.
In October 2007, West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
player Adam Selwood
Adam Selwood
Adam Murray Selwood is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League.-Career:...
commenced legal proceedings against Laws over comments made about him regarding a mid-year incident involving Fremantle Football Club
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
player Des Headland
Des Headland
Desmond "Des" Headland, Jr is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for Subiaco in the West Australian Football League. He plays as a half-forward flanker or midfielder. Headland was selected with the first overall draft pick in the 1998 AFL Draft by the Brisbane Lions...
.
In December 2007, during a long lunch at Sydney's Otto Ristorante to farewell his former personal assistant, he was informed of the presence of rival broadcasters Derryn Hinch
Derryn Hinch
Derryn Nigel Hinch is an Australian media personality best known for his work on Melbourne radio. He is currently the host of 3AW's drive time radio show...
and Bob Rogers
Bob Rogers (disc jockey)
Bob Rogers OAM is an Australian disc jockey and radio broadcaster. He currently presents the Bob Rogers Show, Monday to Friday between 9am-12 noon and the 6-hour Saturday evening Reminiscing program on Sydney radio station 2CH....
at another restaurant nearby. Laws went over to their table and immediately began to spout forth a tirade of invective calling them 'the two most despicable cunts' he'd ever met in the industry. Hinch and Laws traded insults with Laws insisting Hinch was a 'hypocrite' and a 'failed alcoholic'. Hinch replied that that must mean Laws was a 'successful one' and that if Laws wasn't in fact an alcoholic then he was a 'bloody good actor'. Eventually 2UE colleague Mike Carlton
Mike Carlton
Mike Carlton is an Australian media commentator and broadcaster. He formerly co-hosted the daily breakfast program on Sydney radio station 2UE with Peter FitzSimons and later Sandy Aloisi. He is a columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, having been sacked from the position on 29 August 2008, for...
convinced Laws to return to his table at Otto and Hinch and Rogers were left to laugh off the altercation.
On 7 May 2009 Laws made a statement on the 20th anniversary special edition of the ABC's Media Watch program, in which he exhibited no remorse for his role in the Cash-for-Comment scandal, instead implying that the whistleblower (Media Watch) was the wrongdoer and that the people involved were only jealous of his success.
Cultural influence
In 1996 a portrait of John Laws by artist Paul Newton won the Packing Room award at the Archibald PrizeArchibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
. The portrait was hung in Laws' production office at 2UE.
Former Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
called him the "broadcaster of the century" at Laws 40th anniversary dinner.
He has been immortalised as the topic of a song by Australian comedian-singer Kevin Bloody Wilson
Kevin Bloody Wilson
Kevin Bloody Wilson is a comedy singer/songwriter who uses his heavy Australian accent/style with great success...
called "Hello John".
Golden microphone stolen
On 17 July 2007 the gold-plated microphone was stolen. The Sennheiser was presented to him by his radio station 2UE management in 2003 to commemorate his 50 years on the air and is said to be worth $10,000. "I'm very upset about it - it's been a part of my life" he told the Daily Telegraph.Laws subsequently switched to another gold plated microphone; a Rode NT2-A presented to him for his 40th anniversary and has promised charges will not be laid if the Sennheiser is returned.