Veteran shock jock Chris Smith has unleashed on The Project’s part-time presenter Steve Price, describing him as bitter, spiteful and above all else ‘the world’s most boring and bland man’.
The former Sky News host’s extraordinary spray came after his one-time 2GB colleague warned the owners of a small-time Sydney talkback station that they would be ‘crazy’ to even consider offering Smith a job at their network.
Price made the inflammatory comments after being asked about Despina Priala and George Caralis’s ambitious plans to overhaul the Super Radio Network and its flagship talkback outlet 2SM.
The siblings inherited the AM network from their late radio tycoon father, Bill Caralis, who died in July at the age of 82 – just three days before his wife Pam also passed away – leaving behind a rumoured $200million estate.
The newly minted media moguls have since caused a stir in the industry by actively hunting for headline hosts to help transform 2SM into a powerhouse player.
The duo’s first task has been finding a suitable replacement for one-time radio king John Laws, who retired as 2SM’s breakfast host last week after spending his twilight years with the station.
2SM’s new part owner Despina Priala has been caught in the middle of a vicious war of words between two of the country’s best-known radio hosts, Chris Smith and Steve Price
Smith (pictured) says one-time colleague Steve Price is the most boring man on the planet
Price, who has been touted as a possible replacement given his extensive experience in Sydney and Melbourne radio, told the Sunday Telegraph the network’s new owners needed to focus on announcers who would resonate with regional audiences.
The 69-year-old broadcaster cautioned them against offering Smith a gig given the well-documented indiscretions that have seen him sacked from a number of high-profile media roles over the past three decades.
‘They’d be crazy to touch Chris Smith. He’s been given too many chances already. A family-run radio network would be crazy to touch Chris Smith,’ Price said.
The comments were, in part, a reference to Smith’s very public termination at Sky News Australia and Nine Radio’s 2GB two years ago.
The veteran broadcaster was suspended and then fired from both broadcasters after making allegedly lewd comments to female colleagues at Sky News’s boozey Christmas party in Sydney’s CBD.
Smith later apologised for his ‘humiliating’ behaviour, citing alcoholism and mental health struggles.
Price (pictured) sparked the feud after warning 2SM they would be ‘crazy’ to hire Smith
Smith was previously sacked from Nine’s A Current Affair in the late 90s and again from 2GB in 2009 for similar inappropriate conduct while intoxicated before managing to resurrect his career on both occasions.
Since losing his role with Sky News, the 62-year-old has once again worked hard to win back the respect of his friends, family and colleagues.
But this time, he has approached it differently and committed to completely overhauling his life.
Smith quit drinking alcohol entirely after the party, has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for the past year and a half, and has spent more than 12 months working with two separate psychiatrists to help him battle his demons.
He has since returned to the airwaves with digital broadcast outlets TNTRadio and ADHTV, and is understood to have impressed his new co-workers with his renewed dedication and focus.
Contacted about Price’s dire warning to 2SM’s new owners on Saturday night, Smith confessed he was disappointed by The Project presenter’s sledge.
However, he said he was determined he would not let his one-time colleague’s negative comments get him down.
Veteran talkback star John Laws retired as 2SM’s breakfast host just last week
Although Smith would not be drawn on whether he was in talks with 2SM, he said he was currently the happiest and healthiest he has ever been.
‘I don’t know what 2025 holds for me but I have several options, which is pleasing, including at ADHTV, which I love and is growing incredibly,’ Smith told Daily Mail Australia.
‘As for [second] chances, I have turned my life around in two years.
‘Zero alcohol for the first time and lots of mentors and psych assistance for the first time.
‘I have never had better clarity.’
Indeed, when asked what he would say in response to Price’s comments, Smith couldn’t have been any clearer.
‘He’s the world’s most boring and bland man on-air and has never had success in prime shifts in Sydney,’ Smith told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It riles him I have had great success and support.
‘He hates that I would comeback somewhere.
‘But redemption does exist and is real. Watch this space.’
Smith has quit alcohol entirely and is working with psychiatrists to help overcome his demons
Only time will tell if that space will prove to be on 2SM, with Mr Caralis telling the Sunday Telegraph he was unable – and unwilling – to reveal who would replaced Laws on their station, despite hinting it was almost certainly a done deal.
‘We’ve been negotiating with a variety of people … and we’ve spent some time honing in on who we think will be the right fit,’ he told the paper.
‘And we’ve recently closed some deals; we can’t announce that.
‘It won’t be done until January. And we want to maintain that confidentiality that we’ve promised them and that they’ve promised us.’
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