Sydney - Scandal brewed in Australia`s radio land this week after an admission by its most influential talk show host, John Laws, that he had accepted hefty payments from the country`s top banks to end an on-air attack on them.
Laws, a conservative political power-broker with a massive audience of some 4 million among Australia`s working classes, admitted this week he took more than A million (R4,05 million) from the Australian Bankers` Association to end his campaign against banks and launch another to boost their image.
Laws has lashed out, denying he has done anything wrong by making "commercial arrangements" because he is an "entertainer" rather than a journalist.
"I don`t have anything to hide as far as that`s concerned. Of course, I don``t do that sort of thing for nothing, there has to be a fee involved if I`m using my talent," he said.
But Laws` actions, first unveiled by the public Australian Broadcasting Corporation``s televised Media Watch programme, prompted the broadcasting authority to launch an investigation into whether he may have violated the country`s broadcasting laws on Wednesday.
They also hit the radar of the country`s competition watchdog, which announced it would be looking into them to see if Laws or the banks had done anything to deceive or mislead the public.
Laws` radio station, Sydney broadcaster 2UE, has begun its own investigation into the deal. The angriest reaction has come from consumer advocates, who decried the dwindling lines between editorial content and advertising.
"Talkback radio has enormous influence," Australian Consumers` Association public and policy affairs manager Mara Bun said. "It is extremely dangerous when the community is unable to tell the difference between advertising and editorial."
Laws` switch on the banks came in the form of segments on banking issues aired four times a week entitled "The Whole Story".
Nicknamed the "Golden Tonsils" by his critics for his influence on public opinion and famously large income, Laws was once a thorn in the side of the country`s top banks, lambasting them for laying off staff and closing branches at a time when they were making record profits.
In recent weeks his tone on banks has changed, and Media Watch claimed that turnaround came after he and some of his associates proposed the public relations campaign to the banking industry group.
Laws has denied soliciting the money. He said he was approached by the banks after the head of the banking association called his programme. Media Watch has produced a confidential memo in which the Australian Bankers` Association said it has been approached by an advertising agency part-owned by Laws about the campaign.
The deal outlined in the memo states: "The objective is to reduce negative comments about banks from John Laws from the present average of four a week to nil. And concurrently, to receive positive comments from Laws ... and by doing so, to shift Australians` perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the banks."
The deal may have backfired now that it has turned into a scandal. The chairman of the Commonwealth Bank told reporters the banking group would be reviewing the impact of the Laws scandal.
Meanwhile, Laws is fighting to regain credibility in Australia`s cut-throat radio market.
"I think we have attitudes and beliefs which you find won`t change quite that readily," Neil Mitchell, Laws` equivalent in Sydney`s rival city of Melbourne, told his listeners.
"No one in Melbourne would survive what John Laws now faces. You should thank God you live here."