In the most recent ratings survey, Jones’ 2GB* breakfast program captured 19 per cent of Sydney’s breakfast radio audience – more than double the 8.9 per cent of ABC Sydney. In a typical week, Nova reaches 522,000 listeners and Kiis attracts 521,000. Jones is not far behind on 498,000. The reason his market share is so high is that ratings also reflect how long people tune in for; clearly, Jones’ audience devote a significant chunk of their mornings to him. Loading His show is simulcast on 4BC in Brisbane, while a daily “best of” hour is syndicated across more than 70 stations nationally, potentially reaching more than 2 million sets of ears each week. Jones also appears on the Sky News channel, and his views are frequently amplified by News Corp’s tabloids. There’s no denying it: the man has a giant platform. Even so, his reputed status as political kingmaker (and executioner) should not be blindly accepted.

Of the 677,000 people who listen to 2GB at some point every week, almost 300,000 are older than 64; a further 135,000 are aged between 54 and 64. In the 40 to 54 bracket, however, 2GB falls to sixth place with an audience share smaller than WSFM, Smooth, Nova, Triple M and Kiis. Among listeners aged 25 to 39, it ranks ninth. Loading It’s likely that Jones’ syndicated radio audience and his Sky News program also skew older. More to the point, they tend to be conservative. They share his populist, right-wing views. They bask in his outrage. They listen to have their opinions affirmed rather than challenged. This is not unique to 2GB. Every major outlet – through the stories it covers and the opinions it elevates – attracts a certain following. This applies as much to The New York Times, catering to its socially-liberal audience, as it does to the aggressively right-wing Fox News channel.

More than it cares to admit, mainstream media spends a great deal of time preaching to the converted. Jones’ radio audience is objectively large. It’s also true that the majority of Australians – indeed, the majority of Sydneysiders – never listen to him. A canny politician understands this. They recognise that Jones does not speak for “the people”; instead, he speaks to a rusted-on older demographic. His fans are as likely to vote Green as a Guardian subscriber is to oppose gay marriage. Berejiklian may have curried favour with Jones by turning the Opera House into a billboard. But placating Sydney’s top-rating shock jock has done little to stem the backlash. This should not come as a surprise to her. If it does, voters have every reason to question her judgment.