Jonestown: The Power and The Myth of Alan Jones is a 2006 biography of radio personality Alan Jones by Chris Masters. The biography deals in part with Jones's sexuality; Masters asserts that Jones is homosexual, something that Jones does not self-identify as.[1] Masters began Jonestown in 2002 after profiling Jones for an episode of the current affairs program Four Corners.
The book was nominated for the 2006 Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction for its "depth of research, fluency of narrative and professional engagement".[2]
Awardsedit
The book won the Australian Book Industry Award for Australian Biography of the Year 2007.[3]
Controversyedit
ABC Enterprises announced on 29 June 2006 that it was cancelling the publication of Masters' manuscript; ABC Enterprises director Robyn Watts stated that this was because it would "almost certainly result in commercial loss, which would be irresponsible". This statement was widely believed to be a veiled reference to the fact that Jones's lawyers had threatened an expensive defamation lawsuit if the book reached publication.[4] ABC program Media Watch reported that the decision to cancel publication had been made not by ABC Enterprises but by the ABC Board. Many ABC personalities criticised the Board's decision, and a petition against the decision circulated, with signatories including ABC radio personalities Richard Glover and Phillip Adams.
Mike Carlton, Jones's rival Sydney radio broadcaster, suggested on 2UE in his show on 5 July 2006 that the book might detail homosexual encounters on Jones's part[5] and Jones's lawyers had told the ABC that Masters' materials were "replete with false and inappropriate sexual innuendo".[6]
In the introduction to Jonestown, Masters described Jones as having concealed his sexuality "more for the sake of preserving a dishonest power base" than for reasons of personal privacy, an explanation he repeated later when accused of being motivated by prurience.[7] Additionally, Masters says that Jones's attempt to mask his sexuality is a defining feature of his personality and provides an explanation for many aspects of his behaviour. In the book's final chapter, Masters quotes a study performed by Roy Morgan Research that reported that "46% of [Jones's] listeners believe that homosexuality is immoral, compared to 35% of all Australians."[8] Masters' attempts to explain so much about Jones by reference to his sexuality caused the commentator Miranda Devine to see his book as homophobic.[9]
The ABC's decision not to publish the book delayed its release by less than three months; publisher Allen & Unwin Australia released it in October 2006. The book sold 12,700 copies and earned almost A$600,000 in its first six days after publication—placing it at the top of the bestseller list for its category.[10]
On 20 October 2006, The Sydney Morning Herald published a seven-page edited extract of Jonestown. The extract, with italicised links by former Media Watch host and author David Marr, concentrated mainly on the claims that Jones was homosexual, his behaviour while the senior English master at The King's School at Parramatta in Sydney and an alleged "cottaging" incident in London. The lead paragraph sets out Masters' claim that the masking of his homosexuality is "a defining feature of the Jones persona".[1]
The Chaser claimed to have a signed copy of Jonestown, which they claimed to be "probably the only signed copy of Jonestown by Alan Jones", and Julian Morrow stated on The Chaser's War on Everything that they intended to "auction it off to raise money for troubled homosexuals". In the Season 2 DVD Commentary track, Morrow and Craig Reucassel confirmed the book was further signed by Chris Masters and was sold at auction with the proceeds given to a child cancer charity.[11]
In a sharply critical review published in The Australian,[12]David Flint says that "Masters is entitled to investigate and challenge Jones's influence and role, but he is not entitled to intrude into his private life based on purloined correspondence, amateur psychoanalysis and irresponsible journalism. No wonder the ABC board wrote off the public money poured into this vengeful project by the nomenklatura. The result is no credit to its author, its publishers and the two newspapers that featured the most salacious bits." Masters replied to this and other criticisms in an editorial in the same newspaper in October 2006.[13]
Referencesedit
^ abMarr, David (2006-10-20). "The demons that drive Alan Jones". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
^"Jones book pays off in sales and prize shortlist". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-04-25.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2014-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ABIA_Winners_2007]
^ABC cans Alan Jones biography after threat to sue - archived
^Welch, Dylan (2006-07-05). "Jones show hits back over Carlton claim". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
^"Front Page - The ABC Board And Jonestown". Media Watch. 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
^Ricketson, Matthew (2000-10-23). "Masters denies he aimed to 'out' Jones". The Age. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
^. 2006-11-30. Archived from the original on 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
January 01, 1970
jonestown, power, myth, alan, jones, jonestown, power, myth, alan, jones, 2006, biography, radio, personality, alan, jones, chris, masters, biography, deals, part, with, jones, sexuality, masters, asserts, that, jones, homosexual, something, that, jones, does,. Jonestown The Power and The Myth of Alan Jones is a 2006 biography of radio personality Alan Jones by Chris Masters The biography deals in part with Jones s sexuality Masters asserts that Jones is homosexual something that Jones does not self identify as 1 Masters began Jonestown in 2002 after profiling Jones for an episode of the current affairs program Four Corners Jonestown The Power and The Myth of Alan JonesAuthorChris MastersCountryAustraliaLanguageEnglishSubjectAlan JonesGenreBiographyPublisherAllen amp Unwin AustraliaPublication dateOctober 2006Media typeHardcoverPages512 Hardcover edition ISBN978 1 74175 156 7OCLC85485455Dewey Decimal791 443 22LC ClassPN1991 4 J664 M37 2006 Contents 1 Awards and nominations 1 1 Nominations 1 2 Awards 2 Controversy 3 ReferencesAwards and nominations editNominations edit The book was nominated for the 2006 Douglas Stewart Prize for Non Fiction for its depth of research fluency of narrative and professional engagement 2 Awards edit The book won the Australian Book Industry Award for Australian Biography of the Year 2007 3 Controversy editABC Enterprises announced on 29 June 2006 that it was cancelling the publication of Masters manuscript ABC Enterprises director Robyn Watts stated that this was because it would almost certainly result in commercial loss which would be irresponsible This statement was widely believed to be a veiled reference to the fact that Jones s lawyers had threatened an expensive defamation lawsuit if the book reached publication 4 ABC program Media Watch reported that the decision to cancel publication had been made not by ABC Enterprises but by the ABC Board Many ABC personalities criticised the Board s decision and a petition against the decision circulated with signatories including ABC radio personalities Richard Glover and Phillip Adams Mike Carlton Jones s rival Sydney radio broadcaster suggested on 2UE in his show on 5 July 2006 that the book might detail homosexual encounters on Jones s part 5 and Jones s lawyers had told the ABC that Masters materials were replete with false and inappropriate sexual innuendo 6 In the introduction to Jonestown Masters described Jones as having concealed his sexuality more for the sake of preserving a dishonest power base than for reasons of personal privacy an explanation he repeated later when accused of being motivated by prurience 7 Additionally Masters says that Jones s attempt to mask his sexuality is a defining feature of his personality and provides an explanation for many aspects of his behaviour In the book s final chapter Masters quotes a study performed by Roy Morgan Research that reported that 46 of Jones s listeners believe that homosexuality is immoral compared to 35 of all Australians 8 Masters attempts to explain so much about Jones by reference to his sexuality caused the commentator Miranda Devine to see his book as homophobic 9 The ABC s decision not to publish the book delayed its release by less than three months publisher Allen amp Unwin Australia released it in October 2006 The book sold 12 700 copies and earned almost A 600 000 in its first six days after publication placing it at the top of the bestseller list for its category 10 On 20 October 2006 The Sydney Morning Herald published a seven page edited extract of Jonestown The extract with italicised links by former Media Watch host and author David Marr concentrated mainly on the claims that Jones was homosexual his behaviour while the senior English master at The King s School at Parramatta in Sydney and an alleged cottaging incident in London The lead paragraph sets out Masters claim that the masking of his homosexuality is a defining feature of the Jones persona 1 The Chaser claimed to have a signed copy of Jonestown which they claimed to be probably the only signed copy of Jonestown by Alan Jones and Julian Morrow stated on The Chaser s War on Everything that they intended to auction it off to raise money for troubled homosexuals In the Season 2 DVD Commentary track Morrow and Craig Reucassel confirmed the book was further signed by Chris Masters and was sold at auction with the proceeds given to a child cancer charity 11 In a sharply critical review published in The Australian 12 David Flint says that Masters is entitled to investigate and challenge Jones s influence and role but he is not entitled to intrude into his private life based on purloined correspondence amateur psychoanalysis and irresponsible journalism No wonder the ABC board wrote off the public money poured into this vengeful project by the nomenklatura The result is no credit to its author its publishers and the two newspapers that featured the most salacious bits Masters replied to this and other criticisms in an editorial in the same newspaper in October 2006 13 References edit a b Marr David 2006 10 20 The demons that drive Alan Jones The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 2007 03 06 Jones book pays off in sales and prize shortlist The Sydney Morning Herald 2007 04 25 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2009 07 14 Retrieved 2014 01 23 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link ABIA Winners 2007 ABC cans Alan Jones biography after threat to sue archived Welch Dylan 2006 07 05 Jones show hits back over Carlton claim The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 2007 03 06 Front Page The ABC Board And Jonestown Media Watch 2006 Retrieved 2007 03 06 Ricketson Matthew 2000 10 23 Masters denies he aimed to out Jones The Age Retrieved 2007 03 06 Masters Chris 2006 Jonestown The Power And The Myth Of Alan Jones Allen amp Unwin ISBN 174175156X Devine Miranda 2006 10 26 A Journalist s Great Shame Exposed The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 2011 05 06 Jones book rakes in 600k The Australian 2006 11 04 Retrieved 2006 11 06 Episode 2 Season 2 The Chaser s War on Everything ABC October 30 2006 http www theaustralian news com au story 0 20867 20665739 7583 00 html Chris Masters Book critics silent about Jones s many scandals Opinion The Australian 2006 11 30 Archived from the original on 2006 11 30 Retrieved 2023 12 08 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jonestown The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones amp oldid 1210907960, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
