Crikey

18 months after his final broadcast, John Laws’ former employer, Radio 2UE has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $360,000, for 13 separate breaches of sponsorship guidelines in Laws’ final months on-air. The fines relate to Laws failing to properly mention his sponsorship arrangements with Qantas, Telstra, Hamilton Island and Oately Family Wines. This includes a staggering four breaches in his last show alone.

The guidelines were set for Laws following the cash-for-comment scandal and required Laws to declare his sponsorship arrangements whenever they were mentioned on-air. In response, Laws frequently complained about having to ring his special sponsor cow bell each time a sponsor was mentioned and often compared the media watchdog, ACMA, to the skin ailment acne. The case was the first of its kind to be heard by the Federal Court.