Disgraced war hero Ben Roberts-Smith has launched a coordinated publicity blitz over the past week that will be capped off by a 150-minute interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham broadcast on Thursday morning.
Currently out on bail as he prepares to fight five counts of war crimes murder charges, Roberts-Smith’s public relations offensive also includes launching a clothing line and Instagram page.
The Victoria Cross (VC) recipient and former SAS soldier has become a lightning rod for division across politics and culture since launching and later losing a defamation case against this masthead, where he unsuccessfully contested he’d ordered and committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
He now faces war crimes charges which could land him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Where the VC holder would give his first major interview had been the subject of intense competition with Conservative broadcasters Karl Stefanovic and Kyle Sandilands both vying for the exclusive.
But he chose ultimately to work with the newly formed Tapt, the radio stations formerly owned by Nine, and it’s headline star Fordham.
While he is not paid for the interview, promotional pictures released by 2GB show him wearing his new clothing line Epic 1 Two in the video recording, which will be premiered in full on YouTube in video format at 9am.
The network is using the long form interview format as part of a new strategy to find audiences on digital platforms outside traditional radio.
The interview, which spans two and a half hours, is the first since he was charged with war crimes offences. It presents an opportunity for Roberts-Smith to put his side of the story to the public, according to those familiar with the process not authorised to speak publicly, although Roberts-Smith did give several interviews before charges were laid and has in the past engaged media managers.
Roberts-Smith has drawn support from sections of the population, in particular those aligned with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Prospective voters of the party view him more favourably than they do their only lower house MP Barnaby Joyce, recent polling showed.
Roberts-Smith launched Epic 1 Two last week, which is a reference to his military call sign, positioning himself as the “underdog”. It has prompted a renewed push of public support for him, largely from sections of the right aligned with One Nation.
“EPIC 1 TWO is forged in adversity. It is for the people who know what it means to be counted out. To have the odds stacked against them,” the brand’s website says. “EPIC 1 TWO is for the underdog who refuses to stay down.”
As part of the agreement between Roberts-Smith and 2GB, Fordham was free to ask Roberts-Smith whatever he wanted. For Roberts-Smith, it is an opportunity to get his side of the story across, at length.
But there is also a risk that a spike in publicity could ultimately lead to the argument there is no possibility of a fair trial, says former Media Watch host and publisher of legal journals Justinian and Gazette of Law and Journalism, Richard Ackland.
“If you can poison the well enough, then they will make a plea to drop the charges against him,” Ackland says. “I think that’s a reality.”
Representatives for Roberts-Smith were approached for comment.
The Roberts-Smith case has already infiltrated the heart of Australian politics. One Nation has adopted Roberts-Smith as a central figure in the party’s push to be viewed as that of the battler, of veterans and of those punished by the establishment.
One Nation has used Roberts-Smith’s image on campaign material and he, like the party, enjoys significant support from Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart.
Opening a new apartment block for veterans in Brisbane this past weekend, Rinehart was introduced by Roberts-Smith.
“He’s fighting a fight that most of us don’t realise is a fight against the deep state,” Rinehart said of charges he is facing, according to an opinion piece written by veteran journalist Des Houghton in The Courier Mail.
The piece was republished on Rinehart’s website with the alternative headline Three Aussie Heroes, referring to the billionaire, Roberts-Smith and Daniel Keighran VC, who the apartments were named after.
While Roberts-Smith’s fashion brand says it is for the underdog, Roberts-Smith was born to wealthy parents, his father being a Supreme Court judge and major general in the Army Reserves. He went to Perth’s oldest boarding school. He towers over most at 6 foot 7 inches.
He has been financially backed by one of Australia’s richest people, Kerry Stokes, and enjoys the support of Rinehart and the political party she is a major donor to One Nation, which is currently preferred by a quarter of Australia’s population.
He has supporters across wide sections of the media at News Corp’s influential news channel News24, has received favourable coverage from outlets controlled by Stokes, including The West Australian newspaper, and is being handed two and half hours on Sydney’s number one radio network to tell his side of the story.
Since launching a social media account this week, Roberts-Smith has received support online from News24 presenter Peta Credlin, a former chief of staff to Tony Abbott.
Podcaster Karl Stefanovic has also posted a picture of himself and BRS donning the new merch, and has become a vocal supporter of the former soldier’s since leaving Nine, the owner of this masthead.
There has also been support from One News Australia, a news outlet this masthead revealed was previously a One Nation Supporters Facebook group, as well as The Noticer, a white supremacy-affiliated news outlet.
The chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, Tom Malone said the interview showcases the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys. Whether it moves the dial for 2GB or Roberts-Smith, will have to wait.
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