Joe Rogan has responded to an attack from the chairman of the ABC who argued the podcaster was “deeply repulsive” and took advantage of “people’s vulnerabilities”.
ABC boss Kim Williams made the comments as his own organisation struggled with significant drops in audience figures.
When asked about “the Rogan effect” and how exactly the successful podcaster has managed to capture what has been dubbed “the bro-market” in the US, Mr Williams did not pull his punches.
“I am not a consumer or enthusiast about Mr Rogan and his work,” he said.
“(But) I think that people like Mr Rogan prey on people’s vulnerabilities. They prey on fear.”
“They prey on anxiety. They prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society, and they entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of social narrative.”
Mr Williams fiery address in front of the Australian Press Club on Wednesday left no prisoners. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Mr William’s diatribe didn’t stop there.
“I personally find it deeply repulsive … to think that someone has such remarkable power,” he said. “I’m also absolutely in dismay that this can be a source of public entertainment, when it’s really treating the public as plunder for entrepreneurs that are really quite malevolent.”
Rogan responded to the criticism overnight with a tweet on X. Sharing a clip of Mr Williams’ rant, he said “LOL WUT”.
Elon Musk shared Rogan’s tweet and compared the ABC to a communist Russian newspaper.
“From the head of Australian government-funded media, their Pravda,” he wrote.
The podcaster’s endorsement of president-elect Donald Trump at the eleventh-hour of the US election, generated much debate about the power of new-age media formats.
Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, is overwhelmingly viewed by young men, a demographic who turned out in droves to support Trump at the voting booths.
Joe Rogan has garnered a following of over 18 million on his YouTube channel, an audience which is mostly young men. Picture: YouTube
Chairman’s comments ‘embarrassing’
Mr Williams’ comments were lashed by Sky News host Rita Panahi who said the media boss’ admission was “embarrassing” considering the hefty position he holds in Australia’s media landscape.
“It just shows out of touch and clueless he is and… it doesn’t fill me with confidence,” Panahi said.
“It’s embarrassing to have someone in a position like that who is so out of touch with the current media environment, with how people consume news, how people have conversations, the public square.
“To have such a warped outlook really doesn’t speak well for the job he’s going to do there.”
ABC’s output is now ‘poorer’
In his address, Mr Williams also took aim at the government’s reduction in funding which has taken “a very real toll” on the public broadcaster’s output.
“In the last decade alone, our operating revenue from government has fallen by 13.7 per cent in real terms or, put in a simple number, an annual reduction of $150 million,” Mr Williams said.
In a rare admission he said the ABC’s coverage of Australian culture had deteriorated.
“As our nation has become richer, our nation’s broadcaster has become much poorer,” he said.
The admission of decreased capability at the public broadcaster came with a plan to renew the ABC.
“To put my case most simply: the ABC needs a plan for renewal and reinvestment, and it needs it now,” he said.
Mr Williams emphasised the importance of “Extra trusted, high-quality news services, with expanded fact-checking capability” and a “viable strategy to engage in better ways with younger audiences”.
The call for increased public funding follows an apology issued from the broadcaster earlier this month for ‘the inaccurate use of gunshots’ and the ‘potentially misleading use of a quote” during their 2022 Line of Fire reports into the war in Afghanistan.
Mr Williams also responded to mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s calls for the Coalition to sell off ABC radio and close ABC TV.
“I don’t believe that either side of Australian politics in the mainstream would ever consider an action of that type seriously,” he said.
“So I do not treat that particular policy objective with any particular personal seriousness.”
