The cash for comment affair was an Australian scandal that broke in 1999 concerning paid advertising in radio that was presented to the audience in such a way as to sound like editorial commentary.
This resulted in a second scandal in 2004, leading to the resignation of Australian Broadcasting Authority head David Flint, after he had been found to have been less than impartial in his role in original "cash for comment" investigations.
[2] In 1999, reporters Richard Ackland, Deborah Richards and Anne Connolly from ABC's Media Watch programme revealed that 2UE talk back hosts John Laws and Alan Jones had been paid to give favourable comment to companies including Qantas, Optus, Foxtel, Mirvac and major Australian banks, without disclosing this arrangement to listeners.
Prior to giving favourable commentary to a group of banks, Laws had repeatedly criticised them for imposing unjustified fees on customers while cutting back on services.
The inquiry heard that Laws received cash and VIP hospitality at Sydney's Star City Casino for not discussing negative aspects of gambling.