Comment from Peter Saxon
Even the most casual 2GB listener would be in little doubt as to where the station’s political leanings lie.
From Alan Jones on breakfast to Steve Price at night and George and Paul on the weekends, with rare exception, presenter after presenter, backed up by caller after caller, urge listeners to vote Liberal. And that’s just in political peace time.
When an election is declared and the war of words begins in earnest, the station proclaims that Australia is in mortal danger from the nation’s greatest enemy: “The Left.” Coalition politicians are ushered on air in rapid succession to warn that only the Liberal and National parties can defend the country from Labor – and worse still, the Greens – who would plunge this great southern land into a darkness from which we would not emerge at least until the LNP got re-elected.
Now, you would think that having been such a loyal servant of the LNP by devoting almost the resources of a radio station to their election campaign, the Coalition would have rewarded them with a hefty ad spend. But no.
According to a Macquarie Radio Broadcast Post Times Comparison Report published in The Australian (subscription required), the LNP purchased a measly 100 spots on 2GB while buying more on other stations. What an ungrateful bunch! At least it was better than the Labor party which, perhaps sensing a bias against them, boycotted 2GB altogether and bought nothing.
The reason for this apparent snub by both parties likely comes down to basic campaign strategy which is that you put all your resources into marginal seats, not safe ones. Labor felt there was not much chance of convincing rusted on 2GB listeners to change their voting habits of a lifetime. The Coalition couldn’t see the value in adding to the wall to wall positive commentary, graciously provided by their hosts, to preach to the converted. So, they kept their ammunition for where it was needed most: for stations that spoke to swinging or undecided voters.
Not all was lost for 2GB, though, in the battle for election revenue. Along came ‘Cashed up Clive’ Palmer to save the day. ‘Cashed up Clive’s,’ United Australia Party, which ended up spending more in total advertising than anyone (up to $60 million by some estimates), came a close second to the ALP in spending on radio, yet failed to win a single seat. Clive did, however, succeed in annoying the hell out of Ray Hadley, with whom he shares an antagonistic relationship, by carpet bombing his morning show with enough ads to put 2GB in the lead for market share. At least it made the bean counters happy.
Figures below, kindly supplied by AirCheck™ that monitors radio activity directly and agnostically from what is broadcast. Below is a city by city count of metro advertising from the major parties.
Sydney
Share
| Advertiser | Instances | Instance Share | |
| 1 | Australian Labor Party | 1759 | 47.97% |
| 2 | United Australia Party | 1329 | 36.24% |
| 3 | Liberal Party Of Australia | 485 | 13.23% |
| 4 | Pauline Hanson’s One Nation | 94 | 2.56% |
Top Politicians
| 1 | Barry Reed For Senate | Pauline Hanson’s One Nation | Political Advertising | 94 |
Top Media Outlets:
| Media Outlet | Instances | |
| 1 | 2GB | 911 |
| 2 | KIIS1065 | 537 |
| 3 | NOVA969 | 485 |
| 4 | WS-FM | 372 |
| 5 | 104.1 2DAYFM | 356 |
| 6 | EDGE | 319 |
| 7 | 2MMM | 300 |
| 8 | SMOOTH953 | 298 |
| 9 | 2SM | 89 |
Melbourne
Share
| Advertiser | Instances | Instance Share | |
| 1 | Australian Labor Party | 1839 | 56.72% |
| 2 | United Australia Party | 758 | 23.38% |
| 3 | Liberal Party Of Australia | 524 | 16.16% |
| 4 | Australian Conservatives | 69 | 2.13% |
Top Politicians
| 1 | Derryn Hinch For Senate | Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party | Political Advertising | 52 |
Top Media Outlets:
| Media Outlet | Instances | |
| 1 | GOLD | 576 |
| 2 | 101.9 The Fox | 565 |
| 3 | NOVA100 | 521 |
| 4 | 3AW | 501 |
| 5 | KIIS101 | 426 |
| 6 | 3MMM | 382 |
| 7 | SMOOTH915 | 175 |
| 8 | SEN | 96 |
| 9 | GOLD | 576 |
Brisbane
Share
| Advertiser | Instances | Instance Share | |
| 1 | Australian Labor Party | 1447 | 40.15% |
| 2 | United Australia Party | 1075 | 29.83% |
| 3 | Liberal Party Of Australia | 522 | 14.48% |
| 4 | Liberal National Party | 488 | 13.54% |
| 5 | Australian Mental Health Party | 26 | 0.72% |
Top Politicians
| 1 | Hetty Johnston For Senate | Hetty Johnston | Political Advertising | 46 |
Top Media Outlets:
| Media Outlet | Instances | |
| 1 | 4BC | 871 |
| 2 | 973 | 667 |
| 3 | NOVA1069 | 641 |
| 4 | HIT105 | 616 |
| 5 | 4MMM | 548 |
| 6 | 4KQ | 261 |
Adelaide
Share
| Advertiser | Instances | Instance Share | |
| 1 | United Australia Party | 1770 | 43.55% |
| 2 | Australian Labor Party | 1717 | 42.25% |
| 3 | Liberal Party Of Australia | 445 | 10.95% |
| 4 | Animal Justice Party | 132 | 3.25% |
Top Media Outlets:
| Media Outlet | Instances | |
| 1 | MIX102 | 942 |
| 2 | NOVA919 | 925 |
| 3 | 5AA | 644 |
| 4 | CRUISE | 553 |
| 5 | HIT107 | 493 |
| 6 | 5MMM | 266 |
| 7 | FRESH | 241 |
Perth
Share
| Advertiser | Instances | Instance Share | |
| 1 | United Australia Party | 1383 | 35.34% |
| 2 | Australian Labor Party | 1240 | 31.69% |
| 3 | Liberal Party Of Australia | 891 | 22.77% |
| 4 | Australian Conservatives | 78 | 1.99% |
Top Politicians
| 1 | Christian Porter – Liberal Candidate For Pearce | Liberal Party Of Australia | Political Advertising | 309 |
| 2 | Kim Travers – Labor Candidate For Pearce | Australian Labor Party | Political Advertising | 12 |
Top Media Outlets:
| Media Outlet | Instances | |
| 1 | NOVA937 | 1080 |
| 2 | MIX94.5 | 1060 |
| 3 | HIT92.9 | 968 |
| 4 | 6PR | 415 |
| 5 | 96FM | 390 |
Peter Saxon