Keen listeners to the Ray Hadley Morning Show may have realised they were missing a portion of the show when they tuned into Triple MMM in Orange on Wednesday.
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Mr Hadley was asking why the employee of a local car dealer facing a dangerous driving charge causing death had his licence returned, when his broadcast was interrupted by an advertisement and music.
The content local listeners did not hear involved a statement from Mr Hadley about the case of Justin Howarth, 35, who was driving a truck for work when he was involved in a fatal crash, in which a 72-year-old man died.
Mr Hadley told listeners his interest was sparked when a magistrate overturned the police decision to suspended Mr Howarth’s licence, pending a District Court hearing next year.
“The magistrate based this decision on a letter from an employer [saying] that he was not able to work,” he said.
Triple MMM did not respond directly to questions from the Central Western Daily about whether its motives for interrupting the broadcast were commercial.
“Triple MMM apologises for the temporary interruption to the Ray Hadley program this morning. A segment of the program related to a case currently before the court which we are not permitted to discuss on air,” a station statement said.
Mr Hadley, who was aware the station had cut part of the segment, said on air that he’d received an email before going to air warning they were concerned about legalities with him mentioning the case.
Mr Hadley said his statement was assessed for legal issues and claimed he was censored for mentioning Mr Howarth’s employer, West Orange Motors, a program sponsor.