Loading I know what was said because I asked Jesse to write an account of it and send it to me within minutes of it happening. It’s still sitting in my inbox. Hadley has said on air he does not recall Jesse. Stories of Hadley’s temper were legendary. He and Alan Jones were people you actively avoided. Hadley wouldn't even smile or nod to you if you passed him in a corridor. He wouldn’t meet your eyes. I worked for Macquarie Radio from 2005 to 2009. I was never directly bullied while working there, but I observed the workplace culture up close, and it horrified me. If you’ve ever listened to 2GB, you’d know the way the hosts sometimes bully the interview subjects, or deliver scripted rants at politicians deemed out of favour.

We like to think it’s okay for shock jocks to address politicians like that, right? It’s their job. But the on-air bullying is simply an extension of off-air bullying. If we’re serious about people’s rights to work in a respectful environment, why should radio hosts be above the law, or above our most basic standards of decency? Tim Brunero at 2GB. After all, like other commercial radio stations, there are a small army of producers pre-writing scripts, organising interviews and vetting the talkback calls at 2GB. Reporters race from the courts to a house-fire to a press conference so the most current news can be read by the station's newsreaders. Sales reps hit the phones to drum up revenue from advertisers. The host is just one element of this complicated sum of parts. But of course this is not how hosts like Hadley or their stations see their role. They are not workers, but vengeful gods who know no limits upon their power. They are not part of the station, they are the station.

Loading The everyday acts of bullying become grotesque performances of hierarchy. Hadley does not need to yell at 20-somethings, but he feels powerful when he does and his role in the hierarchy is affirmed each time someone cops a "Ray spray". And there is no escape. At 2GB the output is piped into every room. Even the toilets. When a host is on-air, there is no respite from their voice. I can write about this now because I’m no longer in commercial media and don’t have to worry about upsetting the boss. Those who are still there are unwilling to risk their jobs and verify what former Hadley producer Chris Bowen claimed last week about his 16 years of bullying.

Most can’t follow ABC footy commentator Andrew Moore’s example and publicly say Hadley is a bully who thrives on intimidation. Or the example of Jesse who is self employed. And certainly bringing a court action against Hadley for "bullying and unlawful imprisonment", Richard Palmer did in 2013, would be unthinkable for most. Hadley denied those allegations and the parties settled out of court. From left: Andrew Moore, Ray Hadley and Alan Jones. Credit:Ben Rushton, Sahlan Hayes If former 2GB staff find work as ministerial advisors, which is not uncommon, they can’t speak up - their boss could never allow it. Nor could anyone working in a media role for a commercial entity - why would they want to pick a fight with such a powerful broadcaster? But those of us who know, and feel safe enough to talk, should speak up about workplace bullying. Macquarie Radio should set an example by instituting a zero tolerance policy on workplace bullying.