For talk stations such as 2GB, defamation payouts are considered a cost of doing business.
2GB’s parent company, MML’s 2017 Annual report set aside a budget of $695,000 as a “Provision for claims/dafamation”
No wonder then that In a media statement today after the verdict awarding $3.7m in damages to the Wagner family, 2GB expressed disappointment at the decision.
Alan Jones said he needs to “read the entire judgment very carefully.” He feels he has “somehow let down the people of the Lockyer Valley” who sought his assistance.
Every talk radio station makes provision for legal action, because talk radio is a risky business, but it seems Macquarie Media had not expected the damages to be so high in this case.
In the company’s 2017 Annual Report (page 54) provision was made for $695,000 towards “claims and defamations,” leaving the company over $2.7 million in unexpected expenses that will either need to be paid from defamation insurance or company funds, subject to possible appeal.
