Australian media figure Alan Jones has signed with new Australian Digital Holdings (ADH) for his new show titled Alan Jones: Direct To The People.
Jones made the announcement today at a press conference at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney with ADH Chairman Maurice Newman, former chairman of the ABC, which was also livestreamed on the page Jones Facebook.
ADH will be a free, digital platform, with Jones’ show airing on Jones’ Facebook and YouTube accounts and on his website.
The show itself has no advertisers, but Jones said it will generate revenue through ads running on social media platforms.
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Newman called it a “pioneering initiative”.
Newman said: “The scope of [Jones’] The content today on Facebook and YouTube is such that the company I chair, Australian Digital Holdings, believes this program will receive millions of viewers and readers here and abroad. Certainly, we’ve been heartened by the tremendous support it continues to receive, even though it hasn’t aired for some time now.
Last month Jones made the decision not to return to Sky News Australia next year.
Asked about the decision to leave Sky News, Jones said: “I have nothing negative to say about Sky News, I enjoyed my time there. I was offered a contract and I didn’t take it. not signed.
In response to a reporter’s question as to why the show isn’t on a more traditional form of media, Jones said, “I think in traditional media there is, I have to do be careful what i say here, i don’t mean to offend anyone, but there is a lot of interference in what people want to write or what to say and therefore sometimes what comes out is not essentially your point So that’s, and obviously putting it all together, we have the best legal minds behind the operations, so they’ll be consulted, but I’ll say what Alan Jones thinks and I won’t respond to legal letters and if I can say that, say that.
Prior to his time at Sky News, Jones spent most of his career on Radio 2UE and 2GB. He left the 2GB, now owned by Nine, in May 2020.
Another reporter asked Jones about his time on the radio, with Jones denying he would return to radio: “I took my advice from, how do you say it, people who aren’t really my generation. In my opinion, no disrespect here, it’s a rather old-fashioned medium and we’re looking for reach here. This is the key. And the reach you see on Facebook far exceeds anything available in traditional media. So how do you capitalize on this reach? But more importantly, forget me, how do you achieve this goal? »
Jones is ADH’s first broadcaster, with Newman stating his intention for more broadcasters to join the media company.
The premiere of Jones’ new show is scheduled for next week, Monday, December 13.
