Talkback radio veteran John Laws has died at the age of 90.
Sources in the radio industry who confirmed the death said there would be an official statement from the family on Sunday night.
John Laws in the 2SM studio in 2014.Credit: Janie Barrett
Known as the “Golden Tonsils”, Laws was one of Australia’s most recognisable voices in talkback radio. He started his career at Bendigo’s 3BO in 1953.
Laws capped off a 13-year stint at radio network 2SM in 2024, ending a career spanning 71 years.
He became widely known during his several stints at Sydney station 2UE, and for his rivalry with Alan Jones.
After stepping away from the industry for four years, Laws returned to radio in 2011 with The John Laws Morning Show on 2SM.
In 1999, Laws and Jones were the subject of the infamous “cash for comment” affair in which Laws was accused of editorialising paid advertisements for brands including Qantas, Foxtel and others without disclosing them. He was found to have breached the advertising code in 2004 in a second scandal.
He breached the broadcasting watchdog’s codes several times beyond then.
In 2014, the communications watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, found he had breached the code’s privacy provisions after he had read on-air the full name and phone number of a listener who had criticised his program. He again breached the code in 2020 over a “dangerous” suicide insult to a listener.
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