“What was heard on air today was due to a miscommunication..”
It may be a while before we know what happened to the MH370 but a clearer picture is starting emerge of how it inspired one of the most awkward moments in radio so far this year.
Julian Morrow went on the Kyle and Jackie O show this morning to talk conspiracy theories surrounding the flight’s disappearance but things turned sour when he kicked off with a conspiracy theory of his own:
“I’m not saying she’s solely responsible, but remember Lara Bingle?” he said. “I know she normally does train wrecks or car crashes, but I think this could be a new twist by Tourism Australia as part of the ‘Where the Bloody Hell Are You campaign’ to encourage people not to go overseas.”
Kyle and Jackie, clearly keen to stay on the straight and narrow at their new station quickly intervened:
“Hang on, so this is a joke segment? I had all my serious facts here. I didn’t have any jokes written down, I thought it’s way too soon. We don’t even know where this plane is…”
But there was no stopping Morrow:
“It’s disappeared without a trace, maybe it’s at 2 Day FM,” he continued.
Listen to the full segment here:
The segment appears to be the result of a misunderstanding between the show’s producer and Morrow. The show’s EP, Simon Greally was later called on air by the pair to explain what happened.
“We thought by funny he (Morrow) meant he was going to take his … not take it that way,” he said.
Julian Morrow has since clarified his version of events saying:
“I did run through a handful of jokes by phone with KIIS shortly before we went to air, but that obviously wasn’t enough..”
Read his full statement here.
The Australian Radio Network, which owns KIIS FM, has also released a statement:
“The segment on Kyle & Jackie O’s show this morning was intended to be based on actual Top 10 conspiracy theories on the Malaysian Airlines aircraft disappearance as reported in the news, with Julian presenting them in his unique style. It was to be in a similar style to a previous political analysis segment that he did with Kyle & Jackie in the past.
What was heard on air today was due to a miscommunication in the briefing on the tone for the final segment between Julian and the producer.
We apologise if anyone has been upset or offended by anything that was aired this morning, obviously this was never our intention. Our thoughts are firmly with all families who are affected by this tragic disappearance.”