An Australian “free speech” online radio station popular with fringe right-wing politicians and conspiracy theorists is shutting down, blaming its investors for pulling its funding.
TNT Radio was started in 2022 by Mike Ryan, as its CEO and flagship host, and Jennifer Squires. Broadcasting 24/7, the station promised a focus on an array of topics: “Climate Crisis, Pandemics, Covid-19 Malfeasance, Big Tech Censorship, Digital Control, Government Tyranny, Corruption, Propaganda, Democracy”.
TNT Radio had a stable of hosts who were fringe politicians and figures from Australia, the UK and the US, whose content frequently veered into sensationalism or outright conspiracy theories. At various points, presenters included disgraced Sky News presenter Chris Smith, former politician turned conspiracy blogger George Christensen, News Corp columnists, and Barnaby Joyce’s wife Vikki Campion.
It had also broadcast events such as the Bettina Arndt-organised “Restoring the Presumption of Innocence Conference” that once was set to be headlined by Bruce Lehrmann. And when TNT Radio put up $50,000 to sponsor the 2022 Kennedy Awards, the journalism prize responded to the public backlash by announcing it was reviewing its sponsors.
After some of the network’s hosts foreshadowed the closure of the station, Mike Ryan confirmed to Crikey that TNT Radio would shut down this Friday after two investors — purportedly a businessman in Queensland and a German investor — pulled their money.
“The investors didn’t want to put any more money in. But there were also other grumblings, of course, but they didn’t want to put money in,” he said on the phone.
Ryan said the company had 75 people working for it at its peak, but was unable to find other revenue streams because advertisers didn’t want to be associated with its content.
“Because we’re a free speech platform, what we found is that no-one really wants free speech,” he said.
Ryan acknowledged that TNT Radio had broadcast conspiracy theories in the past, but he had removed presenters for sharing them on air. He defended what the network had broadcast — including anti-vaccine as well as heterodox views on Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts — as prescient.
“You look at fantasy and sometimes it becomes reality,” he said.
