Australian Media Regulator Officials Discussed Radio Show Coverage

Officials at the Australian Communications and Media Authority exchanged internal emails about media coverage of a radio show hosted by two former co-hosts. The emails, obtained under freedom of information laws, showed the officials reacting to a front-page headline in The Daily Telegraph on March 4. One official suggested obtaining copies of the page for the regulator's files.

The same official also commented on another radio program that had hired hosts previously dismissed by the station now employing the two former co-hosts. The exchange took place before the regulator issued additional license conditions to the station owner.

Two weeks after the emails, the regulator imposed new conditions on the station's license following earlier breaches of decency rules. An investigation last year had identified nine breaches of the regulator's code of practice. A spokesman for the regulator declined to comment further on the documents when contacted.

The regulator warned that further breaches could result in fines or loss of the radio license. The documents also included a later note from one official about similar coverage in another newspaper.