Jon Faine Biography
Jon Faine born Jonathan Eric “Jon” Faine on 21 September 1956, is an Australian radio presenter who hosts the morning program on 774 ABC Melbourne in Melbourne. She is also recognised as a prominent and influential member of the Australian Jewish community.
Jon Faine Age
He was on 21 September 1956 in Dunedin, New Zealand. He is 62 years old as of 2018.
Jon Faine Family
Born in Dunedin, New Zealand Faine emigrated to Sydney with his parents at a young age before moving to Melbourne in 1968, where he attended Melbourne High School.
Jon Faine Wife
He is married to Jan.
Jon Faine Son
He has a son by the name Jack Faine.
Jon Faine Education
Faine graduated from the Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1979 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Later he worked as an intern at the Springvale Legal Centre, and is promoted as a prominent alumnus on the university’s website. He began his professional career after graduation, as a solicitor at the Melbourne law firms Barker Harty and Co, and Holding Redlich and Co, and then at the Fitzroy Legal Service.
Jon Faine Career
He began his career practising as a solicitor in various Melbourne law firms, combining work with his love of cars by serving as a motoring reporter for a lawyers’ magazine. He acted for free for the Australian Democrats in a number of Court of Disputed Returns matters in the late 1980s with success. He began working in radio, producing and hosting The Law Report on the Radio National channel of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1989 and since that time, has worked on various ABC radio and television programs.
Faine hosted ABC’s local radio morning program, from 1996, from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon in Melbourne, including the Conversation Hour which is heard across Victoria from 11:00 am. He is famous for vigorous debate and for fostering conversation on politics, law, arts and sport. He was found to be Victoria’s top talk-show host, AC Nielsen survey, due to the high ratings that peaked in September 2002, and in 2003 he received the ABC Local Radio “Broadcaster of the Year” award. He also worked on scripts for a number of television and feature films.
Faine was voted by the Australian Jewish News in 2011 as among the Top 50 most influential members of the Jewish community in Australia, with strong connections to Israel.
Jon Faine Photo
Jon Faine Salary
Faine disclosed his taxpayer-funded salary to be $300,000 per annum, after a leak of ABC presenters’ salaries.
Jon Faine Video
Jon Faine News
ABC chairman Justin Milne wanted action taken against Andrew Probyn, Jon Faine
Updated On: 27th September 2018
Source: afr.com
ABC chairman Justin Milne asked former managing director Michelle Guthrie to take action against two ABC journalists, political reporter Andrew Probyn and radio broadcaster Jon Faine, who had upset the government, according to a source familiar with the conversations.
The complaints about the two high-profile journalists were made verbally, and followed Mr Faine’s clashes with a government minister and coverage that upset the Coalition by Mr Probyn, the source said.
The revelation is likely to place more pressure on Mr Milne, who has been attacked by the Labor opposition, unions and commentators for allegedly seeking the termination of economics correspondent Emma Alberici for political reasons.
The source said Mr Milne also complained about the political comedy show, Tonightly, which upset conservatives by directing offensive language at some right-wing politicians.
Mr Milne vehemently opposed moving Triple J’s annual Hottest 100 music broadcast from Australia Day and tried to convince the ABC board to reverse the decision, the Guardian reported. “Malcolm will go ballistic”, the media outlet said it was told.
Defiant Milne
A spokesman for Mr Milne didn’t respond to a request for comment but the ABC chairman indicated he has no plans to resign and portrayed the reports as almost trivial complaints unworthy of a detailed response.
“The job of the ABC Board is to independently govern the Corporation, protect its best interests, ensure that it is well funded, well managed and that our content is of the highest standards,” he said in a written statement.
“That is precisely what the Board has done and will continue to do. I do not propose to provide a running commentary on day-to-day issues which arise in pursuit of our duties.”
Mr Milne, who has been in the job about a year and a half, didn’t deny that he had bowed to political pressure and sought to have Ms Alberici fired for upsetting the government.
Mr Faine emerged as one of the biggest critics of Ms Guthrie, who was fired on Monday, and said she didn’t complain enough about a government decision in May to freeze the broadcaster’s funding for three years.
But Mr Milne’s complaint seemed to be about comments the long-time Melbourne broadcaster made about Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
It is unclear what Mr Milne asked Ms Guthrie to do about Mr Faine, who celebrated her removal on Monday.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield, who has complained many times about ABC coverage, distanced from the suggestion there was political interference by the Coalition Government.
“I have never involved myself in staffing matters, nor am I aware of any member of the government who has sought to do so,” he said in a written statement.
“The operations of the ABC are entirely matters for the board and management of the ABC which, by law, the minister does not have a role in.”
ABC journalists across the country attended union meetings at Wednesday lunchtime to discuss the revelations.
Perceptions of Guthrie shift
Perceptions of Ms Guthrie began to shift on Wednesday after part of an email was published in which Mr Milne told Ms Guthrie to fire economics correspondent Emma Alberici over anti-tax-cut articles that upset the Coalition Government.
“They hate her,” Mr Milne said in the email, which The Sydney Morning Herald and other Fairfax Media newspapers reported they were told about by a source close to the board.
“We are tarred with her brush. I think it’s simple. Get rid of her. We need to save the ABC – not Emma. There is no guarantee they [the Coalition] will lose the next election.”
Ms Alberici wasn’t fired, and on Wednesday accused Mr Milne of having a conflict of interest because she reported a company he chairs, MYOB, didn’t pay corporate tax.
Mr Probyn has upset the Coalition several times. In June it accused him of reporting Labor rhetoric about the timing of several byelections as fact. In May the Australian Communications and Media Authority upheld a complaint that Mr Probyn had unfairly treated former prime minister Tony Abbott by calling him “the most destructive politician of his generation.”
Removing Mr Milne would be difficult because he has similar protections to a federal judge.
The ABC chairman can only be removed by the Governor-General “for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity” or if they are bankrupt or miss three board meetings, according to the law.