Jones. On 29 June 2006, ABC Enterprises decided to cancel publication of Masters' manuscript; ABC Enterprises director Robyn Watts stated that publication was being withdrawn because it would "almost certainly result in commercial loss, which would be irresponsible". This was widely believed to be a veiled reference to the fact that Jones' lawyers had threatened an expensive defamation lawsuit if the book reached publication. ABC program Media Watch reported that the decision to cancel publication had been made not by ABC Enterprises but by the ABC Board. Many ABC personalities have criticised the Board's decision, and indeed wrote a petition against it, with signatories including Richard Glover and Phillip Adams. Mike Carlton, a Sydney radio broadcaster and rival to Jones, suggested on 2UE during his show of 5 July 2006 that the book might detail homosexual encounters on Jones' part and Jones' lawyers had told the ABC that Masters' materials were "replete with false and inappropriate sexual innuendo". Certainly, in Jonestown Masters advances the theory that Jones' attempt to deny his sexuality is a defining feature of his personality, and provides an explanation for many aspects of his behaviour – including, for example, his interest in mentoring young male athletes. His explanation of much about Jones by reference to his sexuality left Masters open to charges of homophobia, which friendly commentators (in an ironic effort to defend Jones' reputation) have exploited. The ABC's refusal to publish the book did not delay it for long; Masters had little difficulty in finding publishers willing to take it on, and Allen & Unwin released it in October 2006. Lengthy excerpts were also published in The Sydney Morning Herald. Bibliography Books Inside Story (1992) Not for Publication (2002) Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones (2006) Uncommon Soldier: Brave, Compassionate and Tough, the Making of Australia's Modern Diggers (2013) No Front Line: Australia's Special Forces at War in Afghanistan (2017) Essays and reporting Critical studies and reviews of Masters' work No front line References Australian television journalists 1948 births Living people Australian biographers Male biographers Chris Recipients of the Public Service Medal (Australia) Walkley Award winners RMIT University alumni RMIT University faculty People from New South Wales 20th-century Australian journalists 21st-century Australian journalists 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers 20th-century Australian male writers