Hinch keeps job and sues Steve Price

Derryn Hinch broke the news that David Hookes and his wife had split up on his program last week, bringing a storm of anger down around his head from 3AW colleagues and management, but he has not been sacked for it.

Hinch met with station management on Monday to discuss his future and was quoted in the Herald Sun saying: “The odds are more than likely that they will sack me.”

But after the one-hour meetingyestreday, he was back on air doing the Drive shift and is expecting to continue as usual.

In latest developments, Hinch has vowed to sue Steve Price for comments he made on the Seven Network. More details in Paper Clips

The stoush began when Hinch spoke about the couple’s relationship after he found out that talkback callers who wanted to talk about Hookes’ wife had been excluded from the program.

He writes on his website:

“I broke the story on 3AW that my own radio station knew last year that Hookes and his wife had separated. And our news service ignored it. I broke the story. In my mind it was news. I believed and still believe my radio station and my colleagues were hypocrites.

“I got sick of the happy family snaps of David and wife and kids and the TV news and the radio stations didn’t touch on it when his wife did not participate in the funeral at the Adelaide Oval.

“It has caused me grief at 3AW. Almost cost me my job. I am about as popular as a fart in a spacesuit.”

Sports presenter Rex Hunt did not appear in his regular guest spot on Hinch’s show on Friday because he “did not want to say something on air that [would] jeopardize [his] respect and relationship” with Hinch.

Hunt wrote an email to Hinch saying: “the announcement that David Hookes and his wife Robyn had been separated lacked timing, decency and respect. In fact I found it tacky.”

Hinch has written an editorial about the issue on his website (click below).