'Hollywood' Howson" when filing showbiz news reports, a nickname first coined by Mike Walsh when Howson began appearing on The Mike Walsh Show. His reports continued when the show was replaced by The Midday Show with Ray Martin. Howson became well known for his flamboyant, clever and catty commentary on the celebrity A-list. Determined to further his writing career, Howson moved to West Hollywood but remained a reporter for Network Ten's Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton. He also reported for 3AW with Ernie Sigley, and remained a 3AW regular until his dismissal over controversial comments in November 2017. Writer Howson's book I Found It At The Flickers was published by Horwitz Grahame Books in 1985. Howson has published two collections of horror stories - Once Upon a Nightmare: Ten Tales with a Twist (Pan Macmillan, 1998) and Deadly Dreams: Ten More Tales with Twist (Pan Macmillan, 2000). Howson wrote I Found it at the Flickers a 1985 autobiographical account of his growing up in Melbourne emphasising his love of the cinema. Radio panelist Howson was a regular panelist on 3AW's Sunday morning program, 'Sunday Morning'. During his appearances on 3AW, Howson has adopted vehemently anti-Muslim views, indicating that he would prefer not to talk to Muslims and referring to Muslims as "skilled propagandists". The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Media Watch program did a segment outlining Howson's behaviour and views in May 2010. In February 2011, Howson had an abusive on-air tantrum over the Seven Network's treatment of Opposition Leader and future Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in an interview with journalist Mark Riley. He verbally abused his radio 3AW co-presenter Nick McCallum, who was also a Channel Seven reporter and hurled sexist insults at a female producer, Cushla Travers. In 2012, he called Julian Assange's mother "a pig" and taunted her with a Nazi slogan, for which he apologised but was suspended for a month. In 2016, Howson used a derogatory term when discussing African gangs. He told the Herald Sun, "I don’t care if people think it was racist, it was a name that came into my head". 3AW management issued a statement later that day, "3AW does not condone the use of a derogatory term by John-Michael Howson on the Sunday Morning program today". In November 2017, Howson went on a wild rant about "anti-coal nutjobs", suggesting climate change activists should kill themselves. He was forced to apologise later