Radio host's four-letter talkback rant

Mark Staufer will continue in his role as breakfast presenter on The Sound.

A late night talkback segment from radio host Mark Staufer that featured foul language has been pulled from RadioLive's website.

Staufer, one of the show's hosts, reportedly said "f***" and "motherf*****" during the show. Subjects for discussion included the age at which he began masturbating and how many abortions his girlfriend had had by the time she was 18.

A popular radio host from the 1980s who later worked as a screenwriter in Los Angeles, Staufer could not be reached for comment.

His co-host from Friday night's 10pm to 1am show, Ian Wishart, said tiredness was probably behind Staufer's use of language.

Staufer co-hosts the breakfast show on MediaWorks' new golden oldies station The Sound. Friday night was the second time he had co-hosted the late night talkback slot on RadioLive with Wishart.

"All I can say is he's been working early shifts [on the Kennedy and Staufer Breakfast Show] and I think he was just overtired," Wishart said. "We had a frank exchange on the air that night. I did my best to try and rein things in, as you would expect in a broadcasting situation. I'm really sorry the listeners had to hear that. I've forgiven him. I have full confidence that he will never repeat that behaviour again. It was what it was. It's two weeks in for this new show and he will not do that again."

A MediaWorks spokeswoman confirmed the broadcast had been removed from the RadioLive website and an apology issued to listeners.

"Some of the content broadcast on RadioLive in the early hours of Saturday morning was in poor taste and some listeners would have found it offensive or uncomfortable," the spokeswoman said. "For this reason, the audio was removed from the website and an on-air apology was made to late night listeners the following day."

Staufer will continue in his role as breakfast presenter on The Sound. It is not clear whether he will continue in the late night talkback slot or face disciplinary action over Friday night's show. "Management will be reviewing the matter further," MediaWorks' spokeswoman said.

Staufer went to school with Russell Crowe and the pair have been collaborating on a biopic of acerbic stand-up comic Bill Hicks.

'I have known Mark for 30 years," Wishart said. "He is a good friend.He's known to be artistic and on the edge."

- Additional reporting Steve Deane