Iain Stables - Career

Career

During his radio career Stables has worked for a total of 16 radio stations in New Zealand and has been fired from four. In the past Stables has worked on two of New Zealand's largest radio networks ZM between 2003 and 2008 and before this on opposition station The Edge FM between 1995 through to 2002. It was at The Edge that Stables performed most of his stunts and his name became well known across New Zealand. Stables left The Edge in early 2002 (contrary to what Radioworks, now known as Mediaworks, had stated Stables was never, in fact, fired from The Edge, but abandoned his employment) and awaited a strictly enforced restraint of trade before moving to opposition ZM radio station where he was poached from Radioworks (without their knowledge) whilst working for The Edge at the time. On 24 February 2008, Stables announced to the Sunday News that he was no longer working for ZM, and has been taken off the air. After leaving ZM, Stables within a month, was appointed a role at Sky TV NZ were he worked as a presentation director before being approached to head independent CHR station Hit Radio X105 in November 2009. Rumours began late in July 2010 that Stables could be moving to Radio Hauraki.

Hit Radio X105 went off the air on 14 September 2010. Stables was due to begin working on Radio Hauraki on 11 October 2010. However, this was delayed after Stables became involved in a physical confrontation with a male check-in employee of the airline Jetstar after a verbal altercation. Stables never made it on the air on Radio Hauraki as he was stood down from his position following the fight with the Jetstar employee. A month later Stables contract with Radio Hauraki was terminated. According to a New Zealand Herald article Stables had a clause in his contract stating it would be terminated if Stables became involved in any court action. The Jetstar employee was found not guilty of assaulting Stables, who was judged to be aggressive and abusive, and allegedly used a racist slur. An industry source said Stables and The Radio Network (who owns Radio Hauraki) had come to an arrangement and no legal action ensued. ARN Australia are a major advertising platform for Qantas that own Jetstar. Both ARN and TRN are owned by Clear Channel Communications USA. A Sydney newspaper article suggested Stables had become a sacrificial lamb due to all the global negative publicity for Jetstar which included graphic video footage broadcast on Australian TV Networks causing much humiliation for the Qantas subsidiary.