Jones to pay for Coates remarks
Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Apr 2008: 3.
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Abstract
Justice [Michael Adams] said the claims that Mr [John Coates] had attempted to cover up matters by bullying the athletes were “patently false” and could not survive “even a cursory examination”.
He concluded that his judgment should go some way towards reversing the harm done to Mr Coates’s reputation. But because it was unrealistic to assume his judgment would be widely read “a substantial sum must be rewarded” so the wrongs done against Mr Coates should be rectified “to the extent that money can do this”.
“It is a pity John Coates had to come all the way to the Supreme Court to be vindicated,” he said. “Mr [Alan Jones] let his personal feelings towards Mr Coates cloud his personal judgment. This brings into question Alan Jones’s role as a responsible broadcaster. It brings into question his credibility.”
Full Text
ONE of the most powerful men in sport, Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates, has won a resounding victory in a defamation case against the most powerful man in radio, broadcaster Alan Jones.
The NSW Supreme Court awarded Mr Coates $360,000 and will later decide on legal costs estimated to be in the order of $500,000.
A jury previously found Jones made defamatory comments on 2GB against Mr Coates in 2004 during three broadcasts, when he discussed the Sally Robbins incident at the Athens Olympic Games.
Robbins stopped rowing before the Australian women’s eight reached the finishing line, sparking a furore.
In the broadcasts Jones said the incident, including a subsequent press conference, had been badly handled and he raised significant issues over the leadership of the Australian Olympic movement.
Supreme Court judge Michael Adams said the defamation fell into three classes: the imputations of bullying, cover-up and incompetence. He said not one of the imputations was “substantially true”.
Justice Adams said the claims that Mr Coates had attempted to cover up matters by bullying the athletes were “patently false” and could not survive “even a cursory examination”.
For the bullying and cover-up imputations, Justice Adams awarded $130,000 each, while for the imputation of incompetence he awarded $100,000.
He concluded that his judgment should go some way towards reversing the harm done to Mr Coates’s reputation. But because it was unrealistic to assume his judgment would be widely read “a substantial sum must be rewarded” so the wrongs done against Mr Coates should be rectified “to the extent that money can do this”.
AOC spokesman Mike Tancred said the judge made it clear that the comments by Jones were false.
“It is a pity John Coates had to come all the way to the Supreme Court to be vindicated,” he said. “Mr Jones let his personal feelings towards Mr Coates cloud his personal judgment. This brings into question Alan Jones’s role as a responsible broadcaster. It brings into question his credibility.”
Jones and his employer Harbour Radio, which holds the national radio rights for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, are contemplating an appeal.
In October, Jones was forced to apologise to Mr Coates on air after he called for his resignation over comments about Beijing’s air pollution.
Harbour Radio chief Angela Clark said the judgment was unexpected and disappointing. “The evidence included testimony that therowers felt bullied and were threatened with being sent home,” she said. “For that reason, we had expected to be successful in our defences.”