This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Trident13 (talk | contribs) at 19:32, 18 November 2008 (adjust). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 19:32, 18 November 2008 by Trident13 (talk | contribs) (adjust)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Jon Gaunt (born 3 March 1961 in Coventry), is a right-wing radio talk show presenter and newspaper columnist for The Sun.
Initially a left-wing supporter of CND, he studied drama at the University of Birmingham, founded a theatre co-operative in Coventry and wrote political plays. After the theatre project failed he was pursuaded by old acting friend Moz Dee (currently the programme director at talkSPORT) to audition for the local BBC radio station for which Dee worked.
Gaunt has worked for many radio stations, including BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC WM, BBC London 94.9, and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. Gaunt was awarded three Sony Radio Academy Gold Award in 2001. Gaunt is regularly seen airing his views on ITV1's The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
Gaunt has been no stranger to controversy in his career, having faced the Broadcasting Standards Commission five times. He most recently hosted a mid-morning current affairs show on talkSPORT. On November 18, 2008 it was announced that talkSPORT had terminated Gaunt's contract following an interview with Redbridge Councils Cllr Michael Stark on Friday November 7th. The decision followed an internal talkSPORT investigation that was instigated following complaints about the content and nature of the broadcast, in which Gaunt branded Cllr Stark a "Nazi," and "an ignorant pig" live on air. The radio station later apologised to the councillor for the manner in which the interview was conducted.
References
- Burrell, Ian. "Jon Gaunt: 'I'm the voice of ordinary folk'", The Independent, January 28, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
- "Sony Awards 2001: The winners", BBC News, April 30, 2001. Retrieved October 12, 2006.
- "Local hero", The Guardian, May 7, 2001. Retrieved October 12, 2006.
- "'Nazi' remark presenter is sacked". BBC News. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2008-11-18.