Former mayor Darryn Lyons’ defamation action could force Geelong’s community radio station to close, according to management.
His decision to sue had “devastated” 94.7 The Pulse, the station said in a media statement.
“The Pulse has proudly served as a core part of the Geelong community for over 30 years, and Mr Lyons’ actions could serve as a potentially fatal blow for our station’s livelihood,” the station said.
“The Pulse has worked to repair our relationship with Mr Lyons over the past 12 months in making a formal apology, suspending the person responsible for the comments, and adhering to any other reasonable steps requested by Mr Lyons’ legal counsel.
“We are extremely disappointed that despite our efforts, Mr Lyons has chosen to move forward with his lawsuit.”
“The financial hardship this suit has and will continue to bring may be devastating to our ability to operate. Fundraising campaigns and further sponsorship support may be required.
“It will be an extremely sad day for Geelong and surrounding regions if the station were forced to close our doors, devastating hundreds of volunteers and thousands of listeners.”
The Pulse’s website carries an apology to Mr Lyons, identifying Greg McHenry as responsible for the alleged defamation.
Mr McHenry’s comments referenced licensed venues in which Mr Lyons has an ownership stake, the apology confirms.
“Mr McHenry called Mr Lyons’ establishments in Geelong “drug dens”, the apology says.
“This radio station retracts that comment. The comment was utterly baseless and should not have been made.
“Mr McHenry also made other derogatory comments about Mr Lyon’s character (that) were unfair and unacceptable. His comments do not represent the views of the station.
“We sincerely apologise to Mr Lyons for all of the comments that were made about him during the program.”
Mr Lyons Tweeted from England last Friday that he had “no desire” to close The Pulse.
“I have wanted to resolve this matter for some time without having to issue proceedings, but after many (tries) I wasn’t getting anywhere,” he posted.
“I remain more than happy to talk to the station to try and resolve it. These are the facts.”
In 2013 Mr Lyons successfully obtained apologies from dozens of News Corp and Fairfax newspapers around Australia after launching legal action.
The papers agreed to apologise after publishing a supplied story wrongly claiming that Mr Lyons was bankrupt.
At the time he declined to reveal whether the settlement included financial compensation.
Community services agency Diversitat manages The Pulse.
