Ray Hadley

Raymond Morris "Ray" Hadley OAM (born 27 September 1954) is an Australian talkback radio broadcaster and a rugby league football commentatator for Channel Nine. He presents 2GB Sydney's monday to friday morning show, and leads the Continuous Call Team, a rugby league-based talkback radio panel program.

Early life

Ray Hadley was born and raised in Paddington, Sydney but has claimed at various times to have lived on a farm in Eungai Rail on the mid north coast of New South Wales as well as a "housing commission house in Dundas valley".^[1]

Radio career

2GB

In December 2001, Hadley joined 2GB to present the weekend rugby league coverage but when fellow 2UE presenter Alan Jones moved to 2GB from 2UE in April 2002, Ray accepted an offer to present the morning show as well.

His talkback show started as a traditionally local, community and state-based current affairs oriented - but over the past two years he has extended his program to networks stations in regional NSW, Queensland and the ACT. His favourite music genre is country and western (both traditional and modern) - especially new releases and some old favourites but would occasionally play nostalgic 50's 60's and 70's radio-friendly pop hits. Hadley's opening theme is "Murrumbidgee" by one of his favourite country groups, The Wolverines, who are also great mates, while the closing theme is the world famous country instrumental "Last Date" from renowned country pianist Floyd Cramer.

In 2009 Hadley started broadcasting to a wider audience. His program from 9am to midday is also broadcast to stations across Rural NSW, Queensland and parts of Victoria and through Canberra station 2CC. Those stations are part of the Southern Cross network owned by Macquarie Bank Media and Capital Radio and are some of the stations which also broadcast the Continuous Call Team.

While Hadley achieved a new milestone in May 2009 when his 2GB morning show ratings reached 19.1% (the best figure for a morning show since John Laws topped 20% in the early 1980s, and back then there were no FM stations in the Sydney market), he bettered it two years later when in May 2011 he became the highest-rating radio announcer ever on Australian radio, commanding an unprecedented 20.1% of the audience. Until being beaten by the top rating Ross and John breakfast program on opposite number 3AW in Melbourne a year later.^[2]

On 19 May 2011 Hadley hung up on Seven News reporter Lee Jeloscek during a phone interview^[3] Hadley took offence that Jeloscek wanted to correct something he asserted was suggested on-air before the interview began, and Hadley cut off Jeloscek mid-sentence telling his listeners:

No hang on. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen to me! Listen to me! Listen to me! Goodbye Lee. You seem to forget, Lee, it's the Ray Hadley morning program...

— Ray Hadley, The Ray Hadley Morning Show, 19 May 2011

Awards

Hadley has been named the best Radio Sports Broadcaster at the "Rawards" for the 8 out of the past 11 years, and was awarded an Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen's Birthday 2002 Honours List for services to rugby league (as a broadcaster) and the community, through fund-raising initiatives for charitable organisations.

Hadley won an accolade at the 2006 ACRAs (also known as the RAWARDS) for "Best Current Affairs Presenter". He won that award again 2009 and became the first radio broadcaster to win both that award and best sports commentator. He has won 20 major ACRA Radio awards since 1987.

Television

After commencing as a sports reporter on Channel 7, Hadley was recruited to Channel 9 as part of The Footy Show, along with his radio and rugby league colleague Steve "Blocker" Roach, appearing between 1994 and 1998. He also made a one-off appearance on The Footy Show in 2005 in a forum to discuss brawling and antagonism between Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs supporters during a game against the Brisbane Broncos at Telstra Stadium. Hadley has also appeared in TV commercials, and for 17 years was spruiking the budget menswear establishment Lowes.

During 2010, he appeared on the Matty Johns Show on the Seven Network, an NRL-focoused programme hosted by Matthew Johns.

Also in 2010, Hadley was signed by Sky News Australia to present a weekly current affairs programme entitled Hadley!. The programme aired on Wednesday nights. ,^[4] Hadley having resigned from Sky News Australia after only four episodes, reportedly due to "differences" and staff not wanting to work with him.

In October 2011, Hadley was signed up by Channel Nine to commentate on the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks but was not invited to return.^[5]

In 2012, he returned to The Footy Show as a panellist on the Five in the Bin segment, commentating alongside Peter Sterling and Paul Vautin on Channel Nine's rugby league coverage.^[6]

Controversies

Australian Communications and Media Authority

Hadley has been repeatedly censured by the ACMA for a range of offences. In 2012, Hadley threatened a protester outside 2GB's premises and later broadcast the protester's name and address on air. It emerged during the investigation that Hadley had got the man’s address wrong, instead broadcasting the address of somebody with the same name. The ACMA found against Hadley, finding he breached privacy regulations.^[7]

On 25 June 2012, Hadley broadcast a fabricated story stating that school children visiting Parliament would no longer be given snacks because of budget cuts. When the story was denied by the then Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan, Hadley called Swan a liar, stating Swan was "complete boofhead that didn't know what was happening".^[8] Despite repeated requests to retract the story, Hadley refused to do so and was found in breach of the code. Despite clear evidence, Hadley continued to deny that he had lied, stating on air, "Through life you can't win in an argument with the arbiter, with the referee and I can't win in a battle with the Australian Communications and Media Authority despite the fact that I think I'm right," ^[9]

Athens Olympics

In 2004, Hadley was recorded in the middle of an outburst aimed at now-former 2GB news director Justin Kelly at the 2004 Athens Olympics, after Hadley's call of an event at the Games was not used in a news bulletin. His use of the word "spastic" offended organisations that deal with people which such conditions, and Ray made a quick apology and offered his services to the organisations affected for no charge. Also during the outburst, the profane word "fucking" was used 20 times.

A dance version of the outburst was soon created and played on Triple J and bootlegged around the country.

Suspension and reinstatement

In February 2013, Hadley was suspended from 2GB, following an incident where Hadley verbally abused an employee, who recorded the event.^[10] Hadley responded to the suspension by contacting the station major shareholder and close friend, John Singleton, demanding to be returned to the air. Singleton agreed and overruled Network managing director Rob Loewenthal.^[11] Following this, Hadley gathered 2GB staff into a boardroom, apologised for his behaviour, repeatedly breaking down in tears during this event.^[12] Hadley's ratings dropped considerably following the release of details of the suspension.^[13]

The employee in question sued Ray Hadley, with 2GB refusing to cover his legal costs. ^[14]

The case was later settled out of court for an "undisclosed sum", the settlement including an agreement that the recording of Hadley's outburst be suppressed.^[15]

Martin Place Siege

In February 2015, Hadley claimed on his show that he could have stopped the siege by saying "If me a broadcaster had spoken louder about the three bail decisions on Man Monis, lives would have been saved."^[16]

Legal action

Andrew Voss

In August, 2011, a statue of rugby league caller, Ray Warren, was unveiled in his home town of Junee. The statue was co-funded by Ray Hadley's radio station, 2GB, and Channel 9.^[17] Andrew Voss, Channel 9's second rugby league caller at the time, behind Ray Warren, noted on Channel 9 rugby league chat show, The Sunday Roast, that the statue was not a great likeness of Warren.

Ray Hadley used his radio show for the two days following the comments to launch attacks on Voss, labelling him a "grub of the highest order", a "moron", and claiming that the gulf between Ray Warren and Andrew Voss, both as commentators and as men, was immeasurable. Ray Warren is a fabulous commentator, but Andrew Voss is also an extremely intelligent and knowledgeable commentator.

It was claimed by some, including Voss himself, that Hadley's over-reaction was due to a perceived snub 17 years earlier, during their time at 2UE, when Voss was rightly offered a television role over Hadley.^[18]

Andrew Voss launched legal action against Ray Hadley which was settled in 2012,^[19] with Andrew Voss receiving a "six-figure" payout, and a public apology from Ray Hadley.

Greg Smith

In April and May 2012, Ray Hadley, on his 2GB radio program, made allegations about then NSW Attorney General, Greg Smith, that he gave advice to his friend, Father Finian Egan, that an alleged victim of child sex abuse perpetrated by Egan in the 1970s and 1980s was seeking a one million dollar payment.^[20]

Smith took Hadley to court, with both parties later dropping the case in exchange for Hadley refraining to broadcast further on the matter.^[21][22]

MP Ray Williams

Hadley was successfully sued by Liberal Hawkesbury MP Ray Williams. In July 2012 Hadley branded Williams a liar in a fabricated story over a scandal involving allegations of embezzled funds at the Hills Shire. Hadley falsely claimed Williams had known about it as far back as 2008 and covered it up. Three weeks before the trial was due to start, Hadley allegedly aggravated the defamation in a spray about another Liberal MP, Bart Bassett, and his appearance at ICAC. This prompted Williams' barrister, one of Sydney's most formidable silks, Tom Blackburn, SC, to file a contempt of court motion, given that the spray had occurred as a jury was about to be empanelled. Hadley told his audience he looked "forward to any Supreme Court acting involving Mr Williams or any other politician in NSW. It might be the only time in history that a so-called shock jock's credibility is running higher than a politician's credibility". The defamation trial was due to begin on Monday just passed (8 September) at 10am. At the 11th hour, the parties sought an adjournment and a settlement was reached. On Wednesday morning Hadley issued a retraction, which he delivered live to air. Williams said the terms of the settlement were confidential, but added: "It's been a long drawn-out process for me and my family. But we are pleased to advise that we are completely satisfied with the outcome."^[23]

Ahmed court case

Hadley was successfully sued by Kim Anne Ahmed. Her husband, Emran Ahmed, was convicted in July 2007 of aggravated indecent assault over an incident in which he forced himself on a 17-year-old girl who had just begun working at his fish-and-chip shop. Hadley attacked Mrs Ahmed on air because she continued to support her husband, and because she took out an AVO against the young victim's father, who allegedly began "circling" the seafood shop.

In an interview with the victim's father in May 2008, following a failed District Court appeal by Mr Ahmed, Hadley described the seafood shop owner's supporters as "vile".

Later in the broadcast, Hadley said that if either Mr Ahmed or his "grub of a wife" still owned their shop, "they should completely and utterly be sent out of business". 2GB refused to cover legal costs in connection with this case ^[24]

Ray Hadley was ordered to pay $280,000 to Mrs Ahmed, including interest and legal costs, with the judge defending the unusually high payout by saying "The publicly inflicted harm entitles her [Mrs Ahmed] to an award which vindicates her reputation and marks the baselessness of the defamation", and describing Ray Hadley and his broadcast as "from the gutter."^[25]

Personal Life

Hadley has two children with his former wife, Anne Marie, including Daniel who is a serving police constable. Hadley married Suzanne in 1994. They separated in late 2010 but reconciled a few months later. ^[26] However they separated again in 2014, and Suzanne began dating Matt Parish, the Canberra Raiders assistant coach and assistant coach of the NSW 2014 State of Origin team.

In May 2014 it was revealed that Hadley had unsuccessfully attempted to have Parish fired from his post with the NRL after Suzanne and Parish began their relationship.^[27]

References

External links

• Ray Hadley's Official Website
• Ray Hadley at the Internet Movie Database
• 2GB 873 AM