Two Australian DJs made a prank call to the UK which it is believed helped drive UK nurse Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward VII’s Hospital to commit suicide.
What is clear is the Australian criminal offences committed by the two DJs, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, and management at 2Day FM and their parent company CEO of Southern Cross Austereo.
The Timeline
Monday 3 December: The Duchess of Cambridge is admitted to the King Edward VII hospital in London suffering acute morning sickness.
Tuesday 4 December: Radio DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, from Sydney’s 2Day FM, call the hospital switchboard at around 5.30am GMT pretending to be the Queen and Prince of Wales. They speak to nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who is working on reception and puts the call through to a duty nurse.
Wednesday 5 December: News of the prank call makes headlines around the world. The hospital condemns it as “deplorable” and “journalistic trickery”. Greig and Christian offer “sincere apologies” and say they were surprised to get through due to their “terrible accents”.
Thursday 6 December: The duchess is discharged from hospital.
Friday 7 December: Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who was working on reception when Australian DJs made prank call, dies in suspected suicide. (Click here to read more)
Rhys Holleran, CEO of Southern Cross Austereo, owner of 2Day FM called a press conference yesterday in relation to this tragedy. His performance was disgraceful and he avoided every question possible with well scripted responses. Below is a summarised video of the press conference where you can see for yourself his pathetic performance.
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The Australian laws breached are well-known in the media industry and even in the general public given the ADFA sex tape scandal last year. Each state has their own laws as well and given the program, which is based in NSW, went nationally they are answerable in each state. In 2010 journalist Ben Fordham was found guilty of breaching the New South Wales Listening Devices Act. His producer, Andrew Byrne, was convicted of five similar offences. Media Watch did a show on it titled “The Right To Record” which also showed British laws on the matter. (Click here to watch) So Southern Cross Austereo would be well aware they have broken the law.
The federal law that covers this situation is section 474.17 of the 1995 Criminal Code:
474.17 Using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person uses a carriage service; and
(b) the person does so in a way (whether by the method of use or the content of a communication, or both) that reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or offensive.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 3 years.
This is the same offence which I covered in a previous post in relation the Australian Defence Force sex tape scandal last year where charges have been laid. (Click here to read the post)
While no one could have foreseen suicide, it would have been obvious the humiliation and embarrassment that would have been caused to Jasintha Saldanha by playing the prank on her at her place of work. It was no ordinary patient at the hospital and the humiliation and embarrassment would have been ten fold. She probably would have also been the subject of ridicule at work and home and 2Day FM, the DJ’s and management could not care less.
While this post is off topic for this website I felt compelled to write it when I saw the interview with Rhys Holleran and his arrogance that he and his company are above the law. Unfortunately he quite possibly will be right. But the two DJs should be charged along with management.
Remember this is the same radio station that houses Kyle Sandilands. In 2009 “A controversial radio “shock jock” has been dumped as a judge on Australian Idol after a public backlash over a lie-detector stunt in which a teenage girl revealed she had been raped.” and “Sandilands, who presented the show with Jackie O’Neil, was accused of further insensitivity when he asked: “Right, and is that the only sexual experience you’ve had?” (Click here to read more)
2Day FM took The Kyle and Jackie O Show of air in 2009 for a period of time, the same as it was announced yesterday with Mel Greig and Michael Christian. The station is a real grubby station that plays in the gutter. They have form on the board and their apologies are just lip service.
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Categories: 2Day FM
“I did nuffing wrong.” So said Julia, so say the rest. Lying tossers.
Why is Holleran still in a job? Why is the company not bankrupt? Sell your shares NOW before it dies! It WILL go bust, so sell NOW.
Other than the apparent suicide this incident would have fallen on its face and been lost in all the other pranks that occur on a daily basis and are considered
to be funny by some. Yet is it not strange that a person suicides for just answering a phone and passing the call on…..no, there has to be more to this, such as did the hospital give the nurse a hard time for her part in the incident,
and was her suicide a result of accumulated problems.
If it is a criminal offence to impersonate a policeman then surely it must be for impersonating the Queen?
Our country is going to the dogs, this is just another symptom of the sickness festering in Australian society. Maybe we need a revolution, or just change from the Westminster system to anarchy.
From the dregs at the bottom to the scum at the top and so little in between, is there any hope for Australia? If there is, It’s got to come from this Web Site.
It is a rather sad indictment on us as a society when the line “we did not break the law” is used as the defence when such a tragedy happens. Not a whiff of regret based on ethics and morality. And now we are starting to get the ‘poor hosts’ spiel from the Company and media. Why in Gods name can we not have some etiquette based on what is ethical and not on whether a law has not been broken.
Badjack – I bet the your use of the word “etiquette” would have most people reaching for the dictionary!
Our PM can’t pronounce hyperbole, amongst other words, perhaps she would pronounce etiquette, eti-quite. haha. No joke though, how desperate for a laugh are these people to pull such a stunt?
your right Badjack lets forget about whats LEGAL or ILLEGAL and think about moral standards and ethics this crowd are morally bankrupt if they think it ok to ring nurses in a Busy hospital where work goes on 24/7 helping the sick and dying And try to impersonate some one else over the phone knowing that they are committing a crime in order to obtain information they know is for the family of the patient and at the nurses most weak moment 5.30am IN THE MORNING WHEN THEY ARE MOST TIRED AND VULNERABLE and RYHS HOLLERAN IS EVEN MORE GUILTY THAN THEY ARE IF HE THINKS THEY DONE NOTHING ILLEGAL HE IN REALITY IS aiding and abetting them in their stupidity
Don’t suspend their licence, that would play into this governments hands, the ownership ( and who are they? ) of this company, should sack all involved, in particular senior management, as obviously they are the stewards, of content.
I believe the whole network of Australian FM radio needs to be looked into and new codes of operational decency laid down.
Well said’ Toejam I agree with every wòrd And those people who think it was ok what these dj’s did how is your çonscience, And it was so Not Funny!!!
These two young DJs probably have no life experience apart from idiotic behaviour learned from the infamous “shock jocks” who seem to rule the radio waves! Their sole aim in life is to become “famous”, and for anyone to argue that they meant no harm is akin to sanctioning bullying! There’s so much insensitivity to other people’s feelings these days, is it any wonder we see so many suicides?
The CEO of 2D FM Said that these two clowns had done nothing wrong. First of they tried to impersonate someone else in order to obtain information that in reality was useless to them THEY OBTAINED INFO THAT WAS FOR FAMILY ONLY THEREFORE BREACHING THE PRIVACY ACT
they recorded this information over the phone and then broadcast it worldwide
(Even the police cannot record without proper documents)
But worst of all they called a busy hospital were nurses were just completing a full night shift and were tired Do these clowns think it funny to make calls at 5.30 AM gmt.just to have a prank call to try and make a name for themselves and their boss says they done nothing illegal At first i thought lets not blame the station for what these two have done. but now i say the station should be closed down if the boss thinks they done nothing wrong
I do not recall seeing a serious complaint from the Australian public before the unfortunate death of the nurse; 100% hindsight is great isn’t it?
Even Prince Charles made light of the incident at the time
Well you weren’t looking very hard. And you obviously don’t understand much about sarcasm if you think Charles was making light of it.
I saw it live, he was smiling at the time; journo’s agreed that he thought it amusing, perhaps you have more ability than I at mind reading!!
unfortunately you are wrong there Colin, there was a rising backlash, just this unfortunate outcome came closely on the back of the initial complaints. And clearly has become the main focus of any complaints… a short Google search will clarify that for you ..Or maybe ask Southern Cross Austereo how many complaints they received on the initial broadcast OR keep an eye on the ACMA site over the next few weeks as they have a obligation to publish complaint data.
I said BEFORE the death and I stand by that statement
Settle down people & get a bit of perspective. It was a harmless prank. We don’t know the poor ladies full circumstances but if this trivial episode was enough to send her over the edge then she probably shouldn’t have been in the position she was as well as looking after 2 children.
Seems insensitivity reigns!
I agree with Dene entirely How do we know the suicide of the nurse was a result of the prank call ? I think it is a ridiculous conclusion to come to without evidence . Apparently the nurse was not vilified for her mistake so even if it was the catalyst for her behaviour she must have been highly unstable to start with.
In my opinion to blame the DJ’s for her death is the sort of mentality so cleverly portrayed by the mobs in the Simpsons cartoon show .
Are you for real you are heartless to state that it was a HARMLESS prank MAYBE YOU SHOULD READ BEFORE YOU WRITE BUT A NURSE HAS DIED BECAUSE THESE TWO IDIOTS JUST LIKE YOU THOUGHT IT A HARMLESS PRANK So you think ringing a Busy hospital at 5.30 am in case you dont realise that AM means morning and nurses are very tired after a long night shift( IN MANY CASES 12 LONG HOURS) And being tired To then be HUMILIATED by TWO THOUGHTLESS MORONS wHO ARE INTERESTED IN NO ONE BUT THEMSELVES Let me ask you a simple question HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF THAT NURSE HAD BEEN YOUR DAUGHTER OR A FAMILY MEMBER
I don’t think I have read such garbage in a long time “rh”
A tonne of righteous indignation but only a gram reason is such a dangerous combination and your motives are infinitely more malicious than those of the pranksters whose careers and personal lives you are so anxious to help destroy.
Simple facts ROB Simple facts They tried to impersoate the Queen in order to obtain private information. that is ILLEGAL then they got the information and they broadcast it all around the world
They recorded the phone conversation which is illegal. They falsely obtained PRIVATE INFO REGARDING THE Royal Family by claiming to be some one else But i suppose that is alright and in line with your ethics and standards BUT NOT MINE l
They are idiots, but no-one can be sure why the nurse committed suicide, so it”s unfair to claim that they caused it! She passed the call to another nurse who did NOT commit suicide, even though she passed on information which was confidential. My girls are nurses and they would have been angry, but not suicidal. It’s possible that the nurse was given such a raw deal from her super, and that caused it…who knows.
The amount of world wide rage and spleen vented on this incident is amazing, if only the same amount of anger were directed to the ever worsening world financial situation….seems Mr & Mrs Mainstreet have no idea of how bad things are getting, and worse, little interest. Reminds me of the old saw, ‘where ignorance is bliss tis folly to be wise’….
So according to you, her death was self-inflicted.
How the hell would you know what caused her to suicide, Colin until the matter is investigated ?
Blame the victim good one .Obviously in your eyes its never the bullies fault the victim deserved to be bullied.I hope you dont have children.If you didnt realise this prank was played Australia Uk and where ever else wide this poor woman was made a fool of and infront of her work collegues .It was absolute humiliation
Dont try and read something more into this story than there is I have no sympathy for the two idiots They deserve every thing that is coming to them absolute idiots
It may,to some, have been a “harmless prank” but it would have been illegal for it to go to air,in Australia,without the permission of the nurses involved.According to the CEO of this radio station they rang the hospital on 5 occasions,so he said some days after his initial press conference.Having not received that permission he went ahead anyway…….the question is why bother asking in the first place? Perhaps,as has been said,permission from overseas is not required.If this is so then I’m afraid that makes us Australians hypocrites as we don’t apply the same guidelines and morals on anyone other than Australians.
As for for some questioning the mental state of this lady well the odds are that this “prank” was probably what sent her ‘over the edge’ and as such should be condemned.She is the victim not the pair of unfunny D.J.s’
As sad as all this is for the poor girl and her family and friends, it surely raises several issues. I came in late on this and may have missed picking up all the threads of it, but I can’t help feeling that maybe we should be looking for some workplace bullying being passed off as harmless teasing.
Poor Nurse Jacintha did what most people would have done, put the call through to the duty nurse. As I said, I came in late on this one. Does anyone know what the duty nurse did & said when she received the call? Was she too fooled by the accents? What’s her state of mind right now? And what was her reaction when she discovered the truth behind the call? And her interaction with Nurse Jacintha?
I completely agree with with Dene and Rob, these sort of prank calls happen all the time as do suicides. And for this web site to jump in pointing the finger so quickly as a crime is not fair. We are yet to find out how the hospital or royal family treated her after realizing what had happened. Be careful not to just ride with the mob, think before you start slandering.
A lot of crimes happen all the time but that does not make them right or legal. I do not blame them for the suicide, but they were fully aware of the embarrassment and humiliation that they would cause her in front of her work colleagues and they did not care. 2Day FM is a station that has history of this grubby type of stuff, so we should not care about them going to jail for their crimes. Maybe you should read the post again before you “start slandering”.
How right you are. Today, many people in the community have no idea of what personal responsibility is. Pranks were generally played against people the pranksters knew, so in some way they could be aware of any implications. Now, we have smart arsed radio jocks trying to make a name for themselves at the expense of others rather than using their talents (if they have any). There is no way these two fools knew what damage could be done by their prank (stupidity) therefore they should have hit the ‘pause button’ in their head and engaged their brain before going to air with it. Bur fame comes before all else.
The thing that really gets me though is that these radio/celebrity media types are precious little humans and get all uppity if someone was to challenge them. The are best described as living ‘egg shells’
thats right Shane they were fully aware as djs that they would cause embarrasment to someone but they did not care so long as they put over their stupid prank My point is that they gave no thought to the exercise before carrying it out 5.30 am IN A BUSY HOSPITAL MADE EVEN MORE BUSY BY THE MEDIA PRESENT OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL REGARDING THE ROYAL PREGNANCY nurses trying to finish after a long night attending the sick and dying and these two call up trying to impersonate the Queen and nurse Jacinta was only helping out a comrade and then had to cope with these two
Who then ILLEGALLY recorded the phone call (thats a form of phone tapping)
They then broadcast it around the world and it went feral They were tittering and laughing in the background and even barking like the corgis As far as i am concerned the corgis are more intellegent
Your attitude to this and your jumping to conclusions is something of a disappointment to me too Shane -or did she leave a note explaining how the prank call had driven her to this which you know about and the rest of us don’t? Sounds to me you have an axe to grind against 2Day FM rather than sympathy for an at best an unstable hypersensitive nurse.
You’re right. Being humiliated globally is an everyday common occurrence for people and would have had nothing to do with her suicide.
Just wanted to point out that the experience of shame is a unique and highly personal experience. Just like physical pain is influenced by more than nerve endings and can include everything from cultural and ethnic background, the same goes for emotional states. Everyone has commented from a predominently white anglo background, and whilst it is true that for an anglo shame and embarassment usually isn’t enough to drive a a person to suicide, the same doesn’t hold true for other cultures. Think for a moment about Aboriginal suicides in custody. The suicide rate for other ethnic groups is substantially lower than for Aboriginals. And whilst Aboriginal offenders certainly have a lot of stuff going on in their lives, suicidal ideology may not be present until after incarceration. The process of being incarcerated is something that has very different conotations for each culture.
The great big elephant in the room is that Jacintha Saldanha was from a different culture and ethnicity to most white anglos. That alone should be enough to consider that we can’t say for certain just what the effect of such a public embarrasment might have had on her.
What a load of garbage kathrine. A DEDICATED nurse is DEAD and this web page has every right to publish the fact and rest assured this web page only states Facts otherwise Shane Dowling would be in Court Fact one
These clowns tried to impersonate another person in order to obtain private information to which they were not entitled
They then recorded this information (which is ILLEGAL to do so)
They then broadcast this private information all around the world and HUMULIATED Nurse Jacinta IN FRONT OF THE WORLD causing her to take her own life JEEEZZZ AND YOU THINK IT WAS ONLY A PRANK
and dont waste your time talking about slander you wouldnt know what the term meant Simple fact tells me that READ THIS WEB PAGE MORE OFTEN YOU WOULD REALISE THAT NOTHING IS PRINTED THAT CANNOT BE CONFIRMED as fact BEFORE BEING PUT TO PRINT
Katherine, you are also pointing a finger the poor nurse. She killed herself because it was her fault. This is typical why some people think big 4WD are safer. (to themselves, not to other drivers)
According to the CEO Rhys Holleran they have done no wrong, then if its OK with Rhys, so when can we expect another prank to be played by this mob of bottom feeders.
Oh how self righteous everyone is….a tragic situation not made any better by all the dogooders of the world having their “minute of fame” in condeming these 2..Yes it was STUPID etc..now lets go thru and think if anyone else has performed a prank whilst filming recording etc …
Also the hospitals protocol on these matters and how they dealt with them has to be scrutinized …what did the management do/say to this person?/ to send her to the brink..
I don’t think they do. What the hell was a Nurse doing on the switchboard? (unless of course they rang directly to the Ward, which I doubt as Palace Security would have had some involvement there). Private Hospitals do do strange things to save a few dollars.
It was reported she was ‘relieving’ the operator at the time. Could have been a toilet break, a smoke break or a tea break.
The hospital has already issued statement saying that they were TOTALLY SUPPORTIVE of Jacinta throughout this whole thing and sympathised with her in every way because of this thoughtless prank by two people who never should have been on air because of their lack of procedure during on air antics AS for do gooders seeking a few minutes of fame fOR YOUR INFORMATION YOU CAN CALL ME A DO GOODER OR WHAT EVER NAMES YOU LIKE BUT IT TAKES PEOPL LIKE ME TO HELP DEFEND INNOCENT PEOPLE LIKE NURSE jACINTA
From heartless people like you And i will always continue to do so
And i thank God that there are people like Shane Dowling who gives us the opportuity to put the story out via this web page And to show us that you and people like Kathrine do exist And that you also get your opportunity to have your say
Stupidity is now the norm at FM pop-radio which I guess is all part of the “dumbing-down” project run by the Mainstream Press (if it isn’t intentional then they are accidentally very good at it). To me the disturbing part is how there’s been an attempt to paint these two jackasses as somehow being victims as well.
The protocol is to become a victim! Just like Gillard, Thomson etc. This will have Whistleblower traits. The instigators become the victims and the innocent become the villans! The “Dirt” will already be getting dug up with “wells poisoned”
Even our brilliant PM fell for the Mayan Calendar hoax and on TV. Bet she’s not charged with misleading us. We should move on. We are falling for media hype all over again.
This would not haver happened in an Oz hospital where it is nearly impossible to get past well trained office wallahs unless you are a nurse’ boyfriend on nightshift. Why was a highly trained, experienced nurse answering incoming public calls anyway?
No Doubt their would have been a strategy and plan. Their has probably been some inside information etc. I would doubt the prank was “off the cuff”. I would speculate the nurse has been hoodwinked maybe even by some work colleagues which is a blow when you consider your workmates as more caring for each other. Thats just my speculation but the truth will out!
Lovely lady but she had other problems on her mind. Have seen and heard what was said by the DJ’s and find nothing wrong with their prank -that is all it was and the nurse played a very small part in transfereing a phone call! Hope you lot in Oz appreciate your great radio stations and support those who work in them.
Could not agree more; a lunch mob mentality encouraged by the media itself; be careful, I can vividly recall the hysteria perpetrated by the media against Lindy Chamberlain; look what happened to her!
As for the nurse answering the phone it has been stated that she was relieving; a situation that often occurs.
We all have other problems on our mind Carol. Radio jocks should not conduct this behaviour, its not for them! How do they know who is on the brink? How dare you say ” hope you lot in Oz appreciate your great radio stations and support those who work in them” Who the hell are you? expecially living OS. We will judge for ourselves who is “fit and proper”
So we have a clairvoyant as a poster now So you have read her mind and find she had problems You are totlly correct UNBELIEVABLE YES SHE HAD A PROBLEM It was two illiterate djs Even before her death was mentioned the prank was being condemned all over the UK and a few AUSSIES it WAS EVEN CONDEMNED IN America its people like you with very low moral or ethical standards that can call a stupid prank like that funny Even if she had other problems these two idiots enhanced it by their thoughtless stupid prank
Nobody ever ‘means’ to do anything. It’s the usual excuse from infantile minds. I trust AMCA et al will throw the book at 2-DAY ..and god help the advertisers who decide to return.
The question we should be asking is – would this young woman, her husband and her children, still be with going about their normal way of life if this irresponsible attempt to gain notoriety had not occurred? Of course they would! Please don’t make excuses for the lamebrains who perpetrated a thoughtless and idiotic prank, and remember, they have caused a death! Very final, and none of you would be condoning their behaviour if one of your own families had been on the other end of that phone!
If it was America and the station and staff were found to have committed a crime in say, recording the lady without her permission or legal authority, then they would be charged with manslaughter since there, a death that results from the commission of a crime even indirectly is a felony manslaughter charge.
Wonder what the laws are in England?
Well said.
“The question we should be asking is – would this young woman, her husband and her children, still be with going about their normal way of life if this irresponsible attempt to gain notoriety had not occurred? Of course they would!”
How do you know this fidopuss? Crystal ball perhaps! This young lady obviously had some problems – this prank being just one.
“Please don’t make excuses for the lamebrains who perpetrated a thoughtless and idiotic prank.”
I’m not excusing their prank as anything other than childish. But you take it further.
“…remember, they have caused a death!”
Gee, the police said it was suicide. Not murder, not manslaughter. If you have evidence to the contrary fidopuss, better contact the police immediately. Just one thing. Where’s your evidence? Or are we back to your crystal ball again.
I’m sorry for the young nurse but methinks there was a lot more going on in her head than this silly prank.
No, Bobmor, no crystal ball! I don’t claim to know any more than any of the other psychics prognosticating here, but I am entitled to an opinion, and I’ve well and truly stated mine! My right!
Bob Mack December 9, 2012 at 4:58 am #
Our country is going to the dogs, this is just another symptom of the sickness festering in Australian society. Maybe we need a revolution, or just change from the Westminster system to anarchy.
Whilst I fully endorse Bob’s response to the above, I was appalled at what two radio announcers did and secondly, appreciate the reference to the Criminal Code.
I have a close interest in radio communications, the operations of the Australian Communications and Media Authority http://www.acma.gov.au ACMA and worked on Communications policy for a political party.
It’s about time that Broadcasting Law was reviewed and where standards of Commercial radio was lifted. If one was to consider 40 years ago; wasn’t there a delay (for example) talkback radio where a button was pushed if questionable comment was aired?
However, the standards has really worsen over the last 20 or less years and for those who hold a broadcasting licence, rules have to be followed.
i have read the comments, and we all agree these 2 clowns need the full force of our federal laws which cover this sort of stupid behaviour ,what ever the nurses situation the end result is so sad for her family ,these 2 clowns have lost their right to do and say what they like on public radio ,William.
I can’t believe that the Government is so stupid. This was a harmless prank. These two DJ’s didn’t even sound like they were anyone but pranksters. I believe that they thought that they would be hung up on as they stated. If this was enough to cause this nurse to suicide, then she should not have been in the job as she must have been very unstable. This is a shocking state of affairs to hold her suicide against these DJ’s. Most people would have a good laugh if it happened to them.
BARB you say that they thought that they would be hung up on The point is that they WERE NOT and they took full advantage of the fact RECORDED the result and broadcast it WORLDWIDE VIA ANY MEANS THEY COULD FIND and once it had gone feral The nurses were being totally humiliated by this stupidity AND A TOTALLY THOUGHTLESS ACT BY THESE TWO
Anyone who suicides because of a prank has to be very unstable. Even if this nurse had been reprimanded for what she did, or even if she lost her job which she never, a normal person would not take their own life. There has to be a lot more to her state of mind. I just wish some of these people with no sense of humour would go and get a life and leave these 2 DJ’s to bring their listeners lots of laughs. It is not their fault that the phone was not hung up on them as they expected. I have had many pranks played on me by phone over the years by people I didn’t even know and I still laugh about one in particular that wasted my time.
You say “Anyone who suicides because of a prank has to be very unstable” So you think it is OK to push them over the edge. What about the 2 DJs breaking the law, is that OK as well.
As a Registered Nurse who often comes in contact with sensitive information regarding local “identities” and who supervises less experienced staff, I can assure you doubters that this experience would have been frightening to the Nurse involved in a manner that most outside observers wouldn’t appreciate. The humiliation that Shane speaks of would be very real for her, as would the fear of losing her job in a very depressed economy, not to mention the fear of having let down a patient. Do not underestimate the fear a quality nurse has of breaching a trust, even unwittingly. I know of good nurses who have been hammered emotionally by one visit to the Coroners Court.
JEEEZZZ PAUL It’s nice to see someone arrive on the scene Qualified enough to understand what this nurse would have had to suffer mentally on top of the physically trying part of her job TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE PRESSURE SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN BE UNDER PRIOR TO HER DEATH probably trying to cope with patients as well as an enquiry into the call and dealing with the media as well
Nice to hear some commonsense coming from Peter instead of all the diotribe from the so called barrack room lawyers. I think Peter has struck the right note when he explained the cultural differences that come into play in this tragic episode. Lack of understanding of different nations cultures and we must all be prepared to compromise in a multicultural society, and lack of common sense and basic ignorance is at the heart of it all. People in charge of media outlets should take more responsibility for what they allow their subordinates to get away with. Allan Myalup WA.
Dear Barb Smith (Dec 9 2012 at 11:22 am)
We’ve had some beautiful examples of ignorance and ugliness, but your ASSumption that “Anyone who suicides because of a prank has to be very unstable” and the other nonsense that follows…and what a “normal” person would or wouldn’t do. It’s all very black and white for you isn’t it – no grey or uncertainty?
Please tell us…when did you attain your MBBS and RANZCP/FRANCP…are suicides your speciality…I know….Nurse Jacintha Saldanha called you at home.
Well what’s black and white are:
1. The 2 radio hosts have breached privacy laws, and there are merits to criminal charges
2. Nurse Jacintha Saldanha cannot defend herself
3. Whether people are lacking a sense or humour, who didn’t hang up on whom, that you thankfully have survived all those pranks and can still laugh, are totally irrelevant
4. Nurse Jacintha Saldanha is dead
CST: I am not disclosing to anyone what my credentials are, but I can tell you that any 46 year old woman who is on reception desk and takes a call and then passes it onto the appropriate person, it cannot be legally claimed that she then suicided because of this caller. Apparently she was not reprimanded by her supervisor so therefore she has had other problems which caused her to suicide. These DJ’s were just unfortunate that their call coincided with her death.
BARB SMITH,
I AGREE WITH YOU, ANY WHO SUICIDES BEAUSE OF A PRANK HAS TO VE VERY UNSTABLE. EVEN PRINCE CHARLES THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.
Well you’re as big an idiot as she is then.
I believe the only idiots here are the ones who are jumping to conclusions and not waiting to see what comes out of the investigation. This nurse had nothing to answer for as she only put the call through to the nurse in the ward. She gave no-one any information. There is far more to this story.
There is more than enough evidence to charge the DJs and management with criminal offences. No need for further evidence although the more that is coming out the worse it looks for 2Day FM and its management. Under British law 2Day Fm had an obligation to contact the nurses and get their approval before it went to air which they did not do. This is the same thing radio stations have to do in Australia.
As I asked earlier, how many of the apologists for these idiots would be expressing the same sentiments if one of their own family had been on the other end of that phone? None, I would warrant! Get real!
Isn’t it really Part 2‑1 section 7 “Telecommunications not to be intercepted” of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979
– C2012C00738 http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2012C00738 that the presenters have breached rather than what’s quoted above?
Both laws would apply
These two dimwits should be charged even had there not been tragic circumstances they are breaking the law and should be punished,ask them what would they feel like if their privacy had been violated by dimwits like themselves,and people like barbara Smith should be ashamed of themselves for encouraging such stupidity. Allan Myalup. WA
We now live in a world where standards, ethics and respect are being eroded day by day. We live in a world that techically is quite bewildering, where modern communications achieve the almost impossible. Busy fingers tap out words without often a second thought to the possibilites.
The culmination of this sort of blase attitude has now wrought scars on people’s lives that were never intended. This communication monolith is candidly getting out of control when two kids can wrought so much havoc without a care in the world. What does this say about the vehicles that was obviously ‘open’ to allowing this to happen?
As one who is old enough to remember the wind-up telephone, the booking of toll calls and the telegram man, the sad part about all of this modern communications is that for most it is convenient, but when abused for whatever reason it brings into play regulations.
As one who has witnessed a mother and son who took their own lives my heart felt sympathy goes out to the nurse’s immediate family.
After reading all the comments I’m appalled at the lack of rational thinking by some of the alleged intelligent commentors.
If this illegal prank by these 2 supposed intellectual thinking Dj’s had never been played out, a family would NOT be in morning for the loss of a loved one. It’s the cause and affect principal at it’s best, think about it for a minute.
2day fm show absolute contempt when it suits them with their shows. As you have said Shane, 2day fm have a long history of breaking the rules on radio with their disgusting actions, notably on the Kyle & Jackie o show on numerous times over the last 10 years. Acma have done virtually nothing to punish 2day fm with their constant breaches of the (acma’s) code. 2day fm never learn on their continuous breaking on the rules. While it wasn’t Kyle & Jackie o’s show that did this disgusting phone call, it was another 2 people (Mel Greig & Michael Christian) that follow the same mentality as Kyle & Jackie o and 2day fm as a whole, showing complete contempt and disrespect for their actions and not thinking of the consequences of the people they may hurt. In my opinion acma have to revoke 2day fm’s broadcasting license thus not allowing 2day fm to broadcast again because 2day fm constantly break the rules and simply 2day fm can never be trusted.
O.K.they broke the law: However was this prank call the reason for her suicide,was this the straw that broke the camel’s back,or are there other issues in her life.I would wait and see,behind every door there is more than one story.
The prank itself may not have been but how much pressure from the paparazzi would she have come under? How would you handle being the butt of peoples jokes with a press pack camped outside your house?
WELL SAID CLIMATE
Could be the the press are the problem.
Who said anyone was outside her home? I am not sure if that was the case. I think she was at the nurses accommodation. I think people are adding things all the time.
The UK press say she was hounded by the media. You seem like a PR person from 2Day FM.
Sorry Shane, I am not a PR person for the radio station and I live in Central Queensland. I am older and wiser than some of those commenting on this story and am sure there is much more going on in the nurse’s life than these 2 DJ’s that caused her to suicide.
The letter written by the chairman of King Edward VII’s Hospital, Lord Glenarthur, to Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of 2day FM’s parent company Southern Cross Austereo.
“”King Edward VII’s Hospital cares for sick people, and it was extremely foolish of your presenters even to consider trying to lie their way through to one of our patients, let alone actually make the call.
“Then to discover that, not only had this happened, but that the call had been pre-recorded and the decision to transmit approved by your station’s management, was truly appalling.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/lord-glenarthurs-letter-to-southern-cross-austereo-20121209-2b33o.html#ixzz2EWevbToe
Management approved it to go to air after it had been recorded. The rot goes a lot higher than the DJs which was already obvious, but now we have the proof. No wonder Rhys Holleran was ducking and weaving at the press conference in the video in the above post.
You have the wrong end of the stick on this one, Shane give it up . Just look your supporters in this like “rh” doesn’t that tell you something?
Sorry Rob, but you are the one on the wrong end of the stick. And please do not use insulting language, no need for it.
Insulting language – Like this you mean Shane ?
Moderator: Rob some comments get through moderation because I read them too fast. Moderation is not perfect. So I have deleted the comment you pointed out, here and where it was in the comment section
Shane. You have my support on this issue. this guy Rob is out of line and the Australian’s reaction to this incident is ample proof. The law has been broken in three ways and the perpetrators should be punished. The standards of radio journalists and other media behaviour has gone to the dogs,we are slowly catching up with the Murdoch mob who have laid the bar on the ground when it comes to human behaviour and morals. Keep going Shane and when this is all over, including the Gillard AWU scandal, relax and write another book Allan Myalup WA.
To those of you out there who think that this has pushed this nurse over the edge, well it didn’t take much did it and if that is the case it would have happened very soon anyway. She only answered the phone and then passed the call onto another nurse. If anyone was going to suicide over this, it should have been the nurse who actually gave out the info. I have read on some news today that they are investigating the case and sounds like there may be other reasons for this nurse to take her life. Anyone who believes that taking a phone call has pushed her over the edge making her take her life needs to think again. Most people have worse things to worry about daily than just taking a prank call and passing the call onto someone else.
Ok OK I know when to quit
Rh, I don’t believe that there has been any damage done by this prank. Hospitals get lots of calls from people asking how a patient is going. They always give the same spin as they gave these 2 DJ’s. They got no information except general info from the nurse. I think this nonsense has been exaggerated out of proportion by do gooders. If they can’t take a joke there is something wrong with them. The Prime Minister went on radio telling us that the end of the world was coming. That was a joke. I bet she sees the funny side of this.
Barb you said Rh, I don’t believe that there has been any damage done by this prank.
From the comments of her friends and co workers a beautiful caring person is dead A nurse who cared for the sick and the dying. Even before her death this was condemned as a stupid prank THE END RESULT WAS NEVER AT ANY TIME FUNNY i WORKED IN EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR MANY YEARS before retireing and i know how she would feel after receiving that call and at 5.30am after a long night working in wards and the humiliation she would have felt at being caught out by two deceitful peopleI AM NOT TRYING TO BE SMART but i have had to deal with these type of people on many many occassions Similar situations and you dont realise just how dumb they really are and to be given a job in a broadcasting station
You are missing the point. How was she caught out? She merely put a phone call through to another nurse who dealt with the call. She never gave any information to the caller. You will find out that there is more to this woman’s death. People have to deal with worse situations than putting a call through to someone else.
Barb you just don’t seem to get it. This nurse unwittingly opened the channel to a huge breach of confidentiality of someone who is more than just your average patient. She was left in the situation of being alone and responsible here and I would suspect felt gullible and stupid, and that she had let everyone down. You have no idea how this could affect someone, and dismissing this along the lines of “stuff ’em if they can’t take a joke” is unbelievably ignorant.
Quote ” Rh, I don’t believe that there has been any damage done by this prank. ”
Barb Smith
You must be joking.
The DJ’s weren’t to know this would be the outcome..how on earth could they! Chaser broke the law every time they left the studio practically and how everyone laughed at their antics! how is this sort of thing any different! I can only suppose that Chaser was fortunate enough that no-one thought to kill themselves over any of their, sometimes quite invasive and dangerous, stunts.
The nurse that killed herself only spoke to the dj’s for 2 seconds! she only put the call through to the appropriate floor…so 2 seconds of her time ruined her life? what rubbish! and how naive (there’s that word again) was she to even think the Queen would be ringing the hospital directly through those channels!
They didn’t ask particularly invasive questions and no particularly private questions were answered. Really no harm was done…until the operator killed herself..leaving 2 children behind!
The dj’s themselves were pretty damn surprised how easy it was, the security breach was by the hospital operator..who, obviously, wasn’t trained to deal with such things as phone calls by such people as royals. The hospitals training let her down in this regard!
People have had their private lives stripped bare by the media…every little thing they say and do picked to pieces…very few that I’ve ever heard of commit suicide over it!
The waffle I’ve heard re her being ‘pushed over the edge’ by the media attention, and other nonsense is beyond belief!
When I first heard of the phone call, I thought…’that hospitals security training is badly lacking’….journo’s, shock jocks and all those sorts of people have done far worse to gain a ‘scoop’….you don’t hear of people killing themselves over it. The girl made the choice…no-one ‘pulled the trigger’ except her. And all over a 2 second convo with some idiot pretending to be the Queen!
I agree that the media and the media headlines are OTT…..stupid, trashy, catch the eye headlines that often have little bearing on the actual story. I stopped buying women’s mags years ago, because of that.
I think of what a lot of people have to go through in this life, and manage to survive, and this rates as nothing in comparison. This poor woman had life problems that we can only wonder about…but a 2 second phone call wasn’t one of them!
Suan, I totally agree with you. This is the biggest load of garbage I have heard for a long time. There are so many morbid people out there that can’t take a joke. They must have a very dull life. I think someone was out to get either the DJ’s or the Radio Station for some other reason and are using this as an excuse. If they have broken the law, the law needs to be changed. We have DJ’s on our radio who fool around all the time and they make our day.
Suan, that is the most sensible statement of the whole blog, I think before this is over there will be a lot of the “lynch mob” with egg on their faces.
SUAN,
WELL SAID. THIS POOR WOMAN REALLY HAD A PROBLEM IF A 2 SECOND PHONE COULD MAKE HER TAKE HER LIFE.
I JUST WATCHED A STORY ABOUT TWO YOUNG GIRLS WHO WATCHED THEIR PARENT’S KILLED BY REBEL SOLDIERS. THEIR ARM’S AND LEGS CUT OFF THEY WERE ADOPTED BY AN AMERICAN COUPLE.
THEY ARE INTELLIGENT, TALENTED AND WELL ADJUSTED.
THEY WANT TO GO BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY TO HELP THEIR LESS .FORTUNATE COUNTRY MEN.
So someone stands, on the edge of a cliff, thinking, and someone else comes along and gives them a little push on the back, who’s fault is it?
This scenario isnt even in the equation as who says she was even on the cliff thinking in the first place.This is alluding to she was suicidal to start with.How about this scenario in stead .She was happy in her life but was dragged to the cliff and pushed over
Jeeezzz HAD ENOUGH You couldn’t have put it any clearer than that And thats exactly what occurred She was from India her relatives all abroad A hard working nurse (4 years at the hospital) unblemished record of hard work and friendly attitude Then these two clowns phone in at 5.30AM and carry out their stupid prank.Then probably management to deal with and the the humiliation in front of her workmates. then the MEDIA frenzy that followed Alone in a hospital accomodation where she had to spend the week because of travel arrangements Probably more than she could take alone and so she decided on what she thought would be the easy way out
What really upsets me about all this drivel is that each one of us gets to vote when it comes to election of our leaders!
So fidopuss, this is drivel to you?
And you are upset that we are all allowed to vote, why?
Yes, Terry, and I don’t back down my statement – take it or leave it!
Yes fidopuss We all get to vote
In a democracy people get the type of government they deserve
AND THEY DESERVE ALL THEY GET
Indeed, we should, rh! Unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way, does it?
KATE IS JUST AN ORDINARY WOMAN WHO MARRIED A PRINCE,.WHY SOMEONE WOULD KILL THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY LET TRIVIAL DETAILS ABOUT HER MORNING SICKNESS TO A COUPLE OF “DJS PLAYING A PRANK IS FRANKLY UNBELIEVABLE.DID SHE HAVE SO LITTLE OF IMPORTANCE IN HER LIFE?
IF SHE HAD PASSED ON STATE SECRETS OF MONUMENTAL IMPORTANCE EG DURING A WAR….. BUT TO REVEAL DETAILS OF MORNING SICKNESS OMG THIS IS MADNESS.
SHANE I AM ASTONISHED AT YOUR ATTITUDE TO THIS TRAGEDY.
Djs don’t make my day! If I needed them to make me happy I think I would have to be on the verge of suicide myself! Look at the big picture, it is about respect, ethics and common sence! The main point been a cover up! Why can’t the truth come out? Look at the CEO’s performance?
How many of you remember when the BBC (UK) came on air with the War of The Worlds?
How many people didn’t realise that this was a radio play? How many jumped out of windows or otherwise killed them selves?
I “feel” for the two young pranksters who will be beating up on themselves – without reason! Push them and push them and they might go over the edge as well, will those who are without sin cast the first stone?
81 replies with varying attitudes on the tragedy for all on one day!
For a real ongoing tragedy, please research how many US veterans from the Middle East invasions are committing suicide and how many Aussie vets are receiving treatment for their experiences.
No joke there and who is taking on the politicians? Radio jocks are easy meat!
81 comments in one day is correct Who treats the wounded vets in the middle east it’s definitely not djs HWS it’s NURSES as for who is taking on the politicians read the other comment columns on the site
I have not seen much mention of warmongering politicians, only lying politicians……. Over slush money!. I have no issue with medical staff. Married to one. Warmongering is a bigger issue than a disastrous prank.
There are a lot of issues bigger than a disastrous prank. But that does not diminish it and make it an issue that should not be dealt with. As for warmongering politicians, this site cannot solve every problem in the world but is trying to do its bit. Taking the comments section off topic undermines what this site is trying to achieve and does nothing for either cause. So please keep comments on topic.
I think that Radio Stations as well as all sorts of businesses dealing with the public have a duty to train their staff fully how to behave with respect to the people they are dealing with In this case, the patient was the Princess Katherine, wife of the heir to the throne. How would the two pranksters? have felt if the Princess had miscarried? You must always think very carefully about your actions if you are in the public eye As for the rest of it we must wait and see what penalities will apply and also not jump to conclusions. .
This is what I mean by nonsense..she didn’t miscarry….I very much doubt whether someone asking after her health could possibly have a bearing on a miscarriage even she did! They were not abusive…and if they were, the princess would not have heard about it. Kate did NOT speak to them.
People must always think about their actions if in the public eye? to a point I guess. But a lot of very famous singers have been done for drugs, wife beating and other unsociable habits..
And don’t get me started on the politicians who are in the public eye and couldn’t give a fig for anything it seems…I’ve seen people condoning and backing the most disgusting acts done by politicians!
Yet, two radio clowns made a basically innocent phone call, a woman suicides, and the world goes apesh*t. It’s sad she thought to do that…but often the reasons for suicide are never really known.
Please….. spare me….lots of things wrong in this world…but 2 pretty much unknown radio jocks fooling around is rarely life threatening. Being hit by a bus would be far more common.
Moderator: Parts deleted as way off topic
Geez your right.
Sorry Shane, I was just trying to point out just one of the many wrong things that go on and no public outcry to be seen.
But this affair warrants such a backlash? I just don’t get it. It’s like a lynch mob! I don’t even see this much anger and hate over child killers. It really is OTT. 🙁
It’s what you get when you leave Juveniles in charge of Broadcast stations and the microphone
This place has learned nothing from Sandilands.
Two strikes…….they’re out.
This is their second big one after the Scandilands fiasco and the rape victim.
Best thing to disqualify Austereo from holding a license to broadcast again-full stop!!
I recall Don Lane on live tv ringing Buckingham Palace and asking silly questions to promote overseas phone calls with easy dialing, all recorded!
I do not recall a murmur of objection, the audience thought it was a hoot.
Exactly, I am impressed by the work Shane does on this blog, but he and all those crying “illegal” conveniently forget that fact, I remember the Don Lane episode and there have been many other examples on TV and radio, the current affairs programs do it all the time.
Where was all the hysteria then? there have been instances of politicians and other high profile persons attempting/ committing suicide as a result of publicity in the press; where were all these people then??
If the TV presenters had run over a nurse in their car there would not even been one line on this blog; it was an innocent prank gone wrong, I am sure most of us have perpetrated practical jokes on others that did not end badly but had the potential to do so.
Take a deep breath people, this is wrong!!
Don rang the PR people at Buckingham Palace, not a hospital.
DUH, read the post properly; the subject was the illegality of taping and broadcasting of conversations, who was dialed has no relevance!
IT IS EXTREMELY SAD THAT THIS WOMAN WAS PUSHED OVER THE EDGE, THE STUPID PRANK WAS TO GAIN MONEY VIA NOTORIETY, THEIR INTENTION WAS NOT HARMLESS, AND THEY HAVE COMMITTED A FEDERAL OFFENCE UNDER THE 1914 CRIMES ACT; NAMELY 85ZE.
I think section 85ZE of the 1914 CRIMES ACT has been repealed but is simular to the crime I put in the post which is below.
CRIMINAL CODE ACT 1995
– SECT 474.17 Using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person uses a carriage service; and
(b) the person does so in a way (whether by the method of use or the
content of a communication, or both) that reasonable persons would
regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or
offensive.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 3 years.
In that case half the world should be in jail. Including your whole blog Shane. Whether the things you say are true or not..you are harassing and menacing the government..as are most of us that post here.
They did not menace or harass this woman…it would take a tad more than 2 seconds to do that. Not one threat or offensive word was used in any way whatsoever. And a 2 second convo could never ever be classed as harassment.
The key part is “the person does so in a way (whether by the method of use or the
content of a communication, or both) that reasonable persons would
regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or
offensive.”
As you can see on this site and others a lot of people found 2Day FM’s conduct offensive. So I think you are wrong. As far as this site goes you say it is “harassing and menacing the government”. We have free speech in Australia so we can criticise the government all we want.
‘I am sorry but we have free speech in Australia’.
It would appear not given the comments on this blog
suan They should never have made a prank phone call to a busy hospital that was stupidity on it’s own. I recently seen a prank call to a pizza parlour on you tube which i thought was funny but it was not a busy hospital where nurses are working 24/7 helping the sick and dying IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MENACING STAFF it has to do with keeping out of the way of the emergency services This is exactly the same thing as calling 000 WITH A PRANK CALL yOU DONT TAMPER WITH THE EMERGENCY SERVICES UNLESS IT IS LIFE THREATENING AND IN THIS CASE I TURNED INTO NOT A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION BUY A DEATH OF A VERY WONDERFUL CARING NURSE sHE MAY HAVE HAD OTHER PROBLEMS ON HER MIND WE DONT REALLY KNOW THAT BUT THESE TWO CLOWNS BY MAKING THE CALL SENT HER OVER THE EDGE As i said SUAN THEY SHOULD NEVER PLAY ABOUT WITH ANY EMERGENCY SERVICE THEY WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES
I have no knowledge of the repeal of 85ZE, it’s wording seems to run parallel with the code you quote.
I was a victim of an abusive phone call which the culprit, believe it or not left on my answering machine, it was offensive, insulting and threatening. The federal police told me that there was no question that an offence had occurred but they could not justify the high cost of prosecuting the offender, they also told me there was no “statute of limitation” regarding this offence, they still have a copy of the recording.
In regard to Susan’s comment “the world should be in jail” I sometimes think we are anyway, but there are many “outs” a lot of Blogs wander dangerously close to Defamation, but some of the laws of Defamation have been repealed, the part about loss of income is not a “trigger” as it once was, there are other “excuses” such as “is it in the public interest” and the fact of “truth”.
The fraudulent phone call made by those seeking notoriety certainly harassed the unfortunate woman.
It was a prank, and a naive person fell for it, so be it. Anyone half smart would have been alert to it considering the standing of the patient.
I still find it strange that a nurse was apparently on the switchboard in a circumstance where confidentiality and preservation of privacy would have been paramount.
It is strange and someone investigating would ask that question. It could be a “set-up”
I WONDER IF MANY WHO ARE SCREAMING BLUE MURDER AT THESE UNFORTUNATE DJS ARE COMPETITOR’S OF THE RADIO STATION.
JUST LIKE THE ALAN JONES PROPAGANDA STING THE OUTRAGE CAME FROM GILLARD SUPPORTER’S. ALAN WAS SUBJECTED TO UNBELIEVABLE HATE WAY BEYOND THE CRIME HE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE COMMITED AGAINST A HATED PM.
NO STATE SECRET WAS REVEALED.
THERE WAS NO EVIL INTENT OF THE PART OF THE DJS.
WE ALL SUFFER HUMILIATION AND SHAME IN OUR LIVES.
NO ONE CAN ESCAPE IT IS PART OF LIFE.
SHE WAS NOT REPRIMANDED OR SACKED.
PRINCE CHARLES WAS NOT AT ALL CONCERNED.
Snow Lady, you are probably tougher than most, but Alan Jones is not a nurse. He is not the mother of 2 children, he is not living in a adopted country.
Do you think Prince Charles is still unconcerned?
First of all, using full caps for an entire rant is very rude, Snow Woman! I, for one, am certainly not a competitor of any radio station. In fact, I’m an age pensioner, a retired nurse, and I’ve met quite a few clowns over the years! You sound so adamantly self-righteous in your support of these two idiots, and this leads me to believe that you may not be capable of feeling any compassion for a young woman’s death! All I’ve heard and seen in the media in the past 24 hours is how “fragile” these two DJs are, and naturally, they would be! I doubt that some of the posters here would have even been giving that a second thought!
Sorry fidopuss, but you sound just as adamantly self-righteous in your determination to hang these two announcer’s.
Compassion you say? where is yours? Where is everyone’s for that matter. The odds of someone hanging themselves over such a thing is so rare that no-one on this planet could have forseen it…one’s chances of winning the lotto would be far greater than this outcome.
I WAS JUST CONSIDERING THE SAME AND WAS ABOUT TO POST SO I SECOND THAT FULLY
I don’t intend that anyone should be hanged, suan! If I’ve intimated that I feel no compassion for the two idiots who got themselves into this mess, then I must live with the consequences of my words! It has not been my intent to punish them, they’ll do that for themselves, but what they did do was to perpetrate a juvenile and insensitive prank to draw attention to themselves, and they’ve certainly succeeded! I don’t like “The Chasers” either, they are absolutely intrusive!
Is it not a crime to impersonate someone on the phone and say who you are which you aren’t? People involved in the impersonation should be prosecuted in the court and justice should be done to innocent nurse Jacintha who was tricked into revealing the information and was a victim of a hoax call.
Anil, the information was that was given was no more than what would have been released to a press conference anyway..the princess is fine, is going to take a shower later etc etc. None of which was intrusive info…unless taking a shower could be classed as ‘intrusive’.
This was not some silly young girl, it was a 46 year old, highly trained nurse (re the ABC this morning.) What on earth was she doing taking phone calls on the switchboard in a busy hospital full of sick people!
Another thing I find oddish…she had access to a hospital full of sleeping tablets, why on earth did she hang herself? From what I’ve read, sleeping tablets are a peaceful way to go…hanging is not. She would know that, being a nurse.
I also find it quite strange that this particular story by Shane has bought so many people out of the woodwork, in such a short time…rope in hand….whereas some of his very informative and amazing posts re our justice department and government have barely raised a comment in comparison.
“Please explain?”
Maybe, just maybe, there was a victim of this stupid prank. Time will tell.
And I, for one, don’t blame the fools who thought it up, I blame the fools who let it go to air
You must be an expert on suiciding like Barb….oh and also a statistician with that comparison of suiciding by hanging and the odds of winning lotto….
Are you an ex-detective? you’re quite the sleuth…
“…she had access to a hospital full of sleeping tablets, why on earth did she hang herself? From what I’ve read, sleeping tablets are a peaceful way to go…hanging is not. She would know that, being a nurse.”
Hmmm, yes…I can see how you might find that odd…but hey, from what you’ve read, sleeping tablets are the go.
But Suan, you forgot about the opiates lying around…
Please – don’t explain. Your deduction and reasoning has been…breath-taking.
Susan, at least there are a few of us who realise that this has been blown right out of proportion. Did you realise that it was NOT this 46 year old nurse who actually gave out UNconfidential information. All she did was answer the call and put it through to a nurse in the ward to act on. She did nothing whatsoever and therefore I do not believe that this prank had anything to do with her death. As you said, she had access to sleeping pills. Not sure what the problem was with her but, it was not the prank or anything to do with it. Sounds like she may have had family problems because her husband never phoned her mother, the press did. That would be the first thing most partners would do is to let family know. Not even her tenasge children phoned their grandmother. ODD.
Barb Why is it you continue to write garbage when you haven’t the least clue to the hospital setup First off Nurse Jacinta acted on behalf of THE RECEPTIONIST The ward nurse simply took the call assuming it had been cleared by reception So the ward nurse done no wrong ARE YOU WITH ME SO FAR BARB or will i repeat it The person who pased the call over was Nurse Jacinta and thats what caused her stress Having been fooled by these two morons you are defending Now lets go to the Family in India AND LETS SORT OUT YOUR garbage AGAIN You said that the husband did not inform the mother the press did. More garbage The husband immidiately infomed his family and advised “do not let mother know as she has a severe heart problem” English law does not allow anyone to disclose names prior to the police or responsible individuals breaking the news of a death by accident TO THE FAMILY Just try for once to get your FACTS right before responding to a post Trying to protect two idiots who phoned an emergency hospital at 5.30 am trying to impersonate someone else in order to obtain information not normally available under THE PRIVACY ACT They then proceeded to broadcast it around the world with no thought for the staff or anyone else at the hospital Jeeezzz and you are going all out to defend them BARB
Sadly, this ‘prank’ and Rhys Holleran’s response have simply added to Australians worldwide reputation as boorish morons.
Been looking at the dictionary, Terry? I don’t intend getting into a personal slanging match with you if that’s your intent! I have a right to my opinions, and they are clearly stated! Live with it!
LMAO at the low brow savages who try and defend the actions of the Austereo’s latest 2 digit I.Q shock jocks . This company is a disgrace , its low life presenters continually cater to the lowest common denominator . Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O are the template for the other wannabes who populate this canker of a media organisation.
Fame seeking pinheads- dj’s ( how are they DJ’s , they barely play any music ) seem to be the norm and the listening audience seems to be a mix of teenagers , Australian flag waving bogans and people to whom schadenfreude seems to be a way of life.
What a venal society we have become. That is all……
For this to go global and some of the odd circumstances around it, and it was going global without the backfiring nurses suicide happening! This was more planned and organised than what is been let out. Going global and intentions for going global the attention to advertisers would have been huge (alot of money to be made). With money comes bribes, kickbacks, set-ups and who knows what else?
To all the bush lawyers and a few real lawyers quoting “the Law” that may or may not have been transgressed. Whatever happened to fair trial and production of proof? Julia seems to insist on it when pollies trangress. One of the laws cited seems to hinge on merely offending the reasonable man in the lynch mob.. Seems a bit harsh on the other half who must be unreasonable.
Get over it.
I wonder how long it will be before these two ‘comedians’ pop up on the A.L.P.B.C.’s “Chaser” show, where jokes about little kiddies dying of cancer are regarded as the height of hilarity?
I’ve never been able to understand what passes for A.L.P. “humour”.
They are guilty of a Premeditated Ofence, wheteher we call it Murder, Homicide, etc is mute.
If they protest that no malice was intended, then they admitting to the fact that No-One at 2DAY FM had thought the whole thing through before the act was committed.
Therefore; They are also Guilty of Unconscionable Conduct, a Total Lack of Duty of Care, Plain Dumb and Stupid and being Totally Irresponsible.
there is NO comeback on this matter, an innocent girl is DEAD!!!!!
I think your comment has been thought through about as much as the DJ’s poor decision. Ridiculous equating a phone call to murder. Have you never insulted anyone? Made a joke that fell flat? If everyone who was ever made to look silly or lost their job due to any reason decided to commit suicide there would be very few of us left on the planet.
just some open questions here…
if, during our typical daily living, we for example shout at a person for being a silly driver and they commit suicide, are we responsible for their death?
what about telling a man/woman they do not make us “excited” and we don’t want a relationship or intimacy with them, are we responsible for their suicide?
or you tell them that they are not suitable for a vacant position, are we responsible for their suicide?
how about telling a barrista that they made lousy coffee with burnt milk, is their suicide your fault?
or a silly and expectedly harmless prank call tipping someone over the edge?
come on people, there is more to this than just finding the last person/people to have contact and lay blame there. it seems there were issues present well before that.
Will everyone be happier if the DJ’s commit suicide as well, due to the enormous pressure? It was a prank call. Yes perhaps silly and not thought through but who could have foreseen such an outcome. It was not bullying, it was not abuse, it was just ill-considered. If UK celebs are calling it ‘sick’ then they have a weird sense of the world. I hope when I make my next mistake that there are people around to support me from a torrent of calls for my head.
Well said, we need some sanity in this debate, in a previous post somebody said.
“They are guilty of a Premeditated Ofence, wheteher we call it Murder, Homicide, etc is MUTE.”
I cannot quite grasp his point does he mean it is silent or make believe?
for me the bottom line is that if one of us(member of the public) played a prank that caused someones death either accidentally or similar to this case that someone committed suicide because of our actions… we would be quickly charged with involuntary manslaughter or something along those lines…..problem in this country is the set of rules the media run with is totally separate to the set of rules they expect the rest of us to run with….
my apologies if this has already been written because i couldn’t read all posts…lol
Some of you are attacking other posters instead of commenting your thoughts and opinions on the subject, which is all the posters not in favour of blaming the DJ’s are doing…voicing their opinions.
A few of my posts..not attacking anyone..merely offering my thoughts and opinion have been deleted or edited…yet those abusive one’s are allowed to stay.
Right.
Bye bye Kangaroo Court….please continue with this rather one sided affair. Just for interests sake…the New.coms poll had 33% blaming the dj’s and 66% saying they are not to blame.
Thank goodness the voice of reasoning is still alive and well.
I have deleted a number of abusive comments from both sides. A number of your comments where you say “merely offering my thoughts and opinion have been deleted or edited” were way off topic. I am sorry but we do not want to know about your experience at the gym which is what you wrote in one comment which I edited out. Anyone can see the ones that I have allowed of yours to see there has been no bias. You say “please continue with this rather one sided affair” Anyone looking at the comments can see that it is not the fact.
Suan it’s not bye bye Kangaroo court Considering the number of posts you have made Your curiosity will always prevail As for your news poll i have just viewed a few this morning and in one case the voting was 76% said they were to blame I have yet to see one single poll in their favour One poll asked did the people think that what they had done was illegal and the vote was out of 1700 votes 73% said guilty If you believe in what you post complain to Shane. I have been deleted on numerous occassions but i accept it as i still get a fair go as far as i am concerned and if i dont like what has been deleted i complain BUT IF WE ALL THOUGHT THE SAME this would be the most boring load of crap without opposing views OPPOSITE VIEWS AND THINKING POSTERS IS WHAT BRINGS JUSTICE TO THE FOREFRONT wE ALL LEARN FROM EACH OTHER things may get heated at times but that is what makes a forum SUAN kEEP IN THERE AND KEEP FIGHTING FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN I DO
It was your rude and sarcastic post to Barb that annoyed me! you accused her of talking garbage! I found that really rude, just because her opinion of this event differs to yours..
Don’t leave now, you’re just about to pass Barb Smith on the post count. What I mean is, If you can’t say it in one post then you just can’t say it.
I blame the media for taking it viral.
Rhys Holleran thinks that because, as he says ” they tried calling the nurses 5 tines to get their permission to air” but were unsuccessful, that it is then fair to air. You Moron, it is little wonder that the world is becoming populated by idiots, you only have to look at their roll models to see why this is a growing trait.
Shane, this blog is turning into a vulgar slanging match between some who think they know everything and some who do know everything, in other words it is getting boreing. Peoples opinion’s are not relevant any more,the fact is two not very unintelligent people in a responsible position created a situation that caused a young nurse to commit suicide, the facts are clear we don’t need budding Sherlock Holmses to work that out. If the two idiots had not tried to be too clever for their mentality a women would still be alive today. I shall not be reading this blog again until it gets back to sanity. Allan Myalup WA.
While sitting in their Sydney studio making an international phone call to the UK, Mel Greig and Michael Christian would have been subject to the internal rules and procedures of Southern Cross Austereo; Section 11 of the NSW Surveillance Devices Act 2007; and 474.17 of the 1995 Criminal Code. The two nurses working at King Edward VII hospital in London would have been subject to the criminal jurisdiction of England and Wales.
(NB, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has three quite separate and distinct legal jurisdictions: England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland. In general, there is no such thing as ‘British’ law.)
The criminal statutes of England and Wales that apply to the two nurses are the Data Protection Act (1998) (DPA); the Freedom of Information Act (2000) (FOI); the Human Rights Act (1998) (HRA). HRA implements all the Articles in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocols No. 11 and No. 14 (Rome, 4.XI.1950), but the DPA and the FOI acts also reflect the Convention.
Further, however, Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocols No. 11 and No. 14 (Rome, 4.XI.1950) applies directly to the conduct of the two nurses, irrespective of HRA (which many Tory politicians would like to see repealed because they believe it is a charter for terrorists.)
This is what the Leveson Inquiry has been all about – the repeated breached of Article 8 by the national newspapers of England and Wales. Hence, the second nurse may well have breached the DPA, or if she did not, her employer (the hospital) as the data controller did. At the very least, it’s likely the second nurse breached the policies of the hospital and the local health authority on divulging confidential patient information to a third party.
Last, all radio hosts who broadcast for Southern Cross Austereo’s 2Day FM are subject to the Codes of Practice & Guidelines (September 2011; Commercial Radio Australia Limited ACN 059 731 467)
The Codes of Practise that apply in this case are likely to be 1.3(a); 6.1; 9.1(a)
Code of Practise 1.3
(a) Program content must not offend generally accepted standards of decency (for example, through the use of unjustified language), having regard to the demographic characteristics of the audience of the relevant program.
(b) For the purposes of determining:
(i) the audience of the relevant program; and
(ii) the demographic characteristics of that audience,
regard must be had, in particular, to the results of any official ratings surveys of the licensee’s service in the prior 12 months, (or, in the case of any licensee service operating in regional areas, the most recent official ratings surveys for the licensee’s service).
Code of Practise 6.1
A licensee must not broadcast the words of an identifiable person unless:
(a) that person has been informed in advance or a reasonable person would be aware that the words may be broadcast;
or
(b) in the case of words which have been recorded without the knowledge of the person, that person has subsequently, but prior to the broadcast, expressed consent to the broadcast of the words.
Code of Practise 9.1
Subject to Codes 9.2 to 9.3 below, a licensee must not broadcast a program which, in all of the circumstances:
(a) treats participants in live hosted entertainment programs in a highly demeaning or highly exploitative manner;
or
(b) treats children participating in live hosted entertainment programs in a demeaning or exploitative manner.
Demeaning: A depiction or description, sexual in nature, which is a serious debasement of the participant.
Child/children: a person/people under 16 years old.
Exploitative: Clearly appearing to purposefully debase or abuse the participant for the enjoyment of others, and lacking moral, artistic or other values.
Live hosted entertainment program: a program (excluding any news program and any current affairs program) that is produced and broadcast live to air and is a hybrid program, a substantial part of which includes the following components:
(a) a live host;
and
(b) one or more of the following:
• competitions;
• stunts;
• pranks.
This afternoon 2Day FM made sure that everyone got to hear or read theat they made no less than 5 atttempts to contact the hospital to obtain consent before airing the now infamous prank (and it was still aired without conset). I think this might have been done to soften things up before Greig and Christian’s interview aired tonight.
By now many people would have seen Greig and Christian on A Current Affair and it seems, as usual, media PR people are incapable of learning anything other than “Don’t admit liability”.
Sure there were some tears shed, but Greig and Christian’s appearance was no different to any other carefully scripted and handled ‘apology’ scenario. First they tried to shift blame back onto the hospital staff, the two nurses in particular, and when pressed as to why they didn’t stop to think maybe the prank was going too far and stop it, started to blame their editors and everyone else in management.
The net result was that they came off looking like a pair of arrogant, uncaring individuals who were only sorry for the damage done to their careers. That has really changed my perception of those two and their ‘fragile’ state. After that, I couldn’t help but notice just how fresh faced and healthy they looked. Not a bad effort for two people who have allegedly had their world shaken to the very core. At the least I would have expected bags under the eyes. I found myself doubting they’ve lost any sleep over Jacintha Saldanha.
Clearly negative public reaction to recent apologies such as the ones by Jones, Negus and Stymes have gone unnoticed in media PR land. One can’t help but wonder what terrible tragedy must occur before we hear a genuinely sincere and heartfelt apology fall from the lips of a media personality. Heck, even a Korean popstar gets just how important that is –
“I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words. […] While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self, I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted.”
RHYS hOLLERAN claims he made five attempts to get through to the nurses prior to broadcasting the prank Seems that his 2dj’s had no problem getting through JUST A THOUGHT mmmmm
Completely agree with this post.Regardless of the rights or wrongs of this “prank” the interview seemed contrived.The spin doctors had been at work and as long as the radio stations backside was covered everything would be fine.
It really is a kangaroo court. sad.
Has anybody got any proof that the suicide had anything to do with their prank ?
Prank, whatever, it is just another form of bullying, like practical jokes. Ever been on the receiving end of that peter? I have when I was at school & it continued into high school. Funny, when I had a growth spurt at age 14 it seemed to stop after that, This went on for years. Scarred me for life, but I got over it. Some people don’t.
Shane has climbed into a mare’s nest . The lynch mob aren’t interested in who was righteously offended nor what the UK Coroner may find. It is all filling my inbox daily and i wish it weren’t.
I’m with you; I have referred heaps of friends to Shane’s blog, I thought he was doing a good job of exposing corruption, but on this issue in my opinion he has initiated/joined a lynch mob.
Talk about trial by media, not for; me my subscriptions have been cancelled
Irrespective of what the coroner finds or the suicide, Australian laws have been broken and 2Day FM know it. Ben Fordham and his producer at the time, Andrew Byrne, were both found guilty of breaching the New South Wales Listening Devices Act in 2010 as I write in the above post. The 2 DJs and 2Day FM are guilty of the same thing and they are trying to cover it up. Watch the video in the post and see the CEO, Rhys Holleran, duck and weave when answering questions.
I think you’ll find the same polarization of opinion everywhere this is being discussed. Shane’s point as I read this is that he believes the law has possibly been broken, which is the whole point of this site: law and how it gets broken, bent, disregarded, ignored, creatively interpreted etc whenever it suits, and how some seem better able to get away with it than others. Our opinions will differ about the nature of the “prank” but the fact remains that a breach of the law looks possible and the events ultimately had a sorry consequence. It comes back to those words “menacing, harassing or offensive”. If you go by Black’s Law dictionary I think it may be hard to make a legal case based on those three words and I doubt anyone will try, buts that not in the end for me to decide. The ethical case on the other hand is entirely different.
You hit the nail on the head Paul. Except one point, even if the federal law of “menacing, harassing or offensive” did not hold up the breaching of the New South Wales Listening Devices Act would. You cannot secretly record people full stop. Even worse if you broadcast it which 2Day FM did.
Just listened to the interview on TT. The phrase “noone could have predicted what happened” was repeated quite often. Noone could have predicted (except maybe Churchill) that Poland would be invaded and millions of Jews would be exterminated but it still happened. Cop out comes to mind. Where is their respect for the Royal family and the privacy of others? And when did someone, even a royal, having morning sickness become newsworthy? What a sick world it is.
Even without the legal matters didn’t it sink into their feeble minds that Jacintha could have lost her job,or was that a price that they were willing to pay?
Not so funny now eh!
I don’t think I’m getting off topic here, but a possible explanation re the phone call. In Private Hospitals where I’ve worked, patients have employed a “Private Nurse”, and I’ve read elsewhere that this was the case, i.e. she has nothing to do with the particular ward or the workings of that ward. Her sole duty is to care for the person she’s attending. It is possible that the nurse who took the initial enquiry simply answered the ward phone, and put the call through immediately to the patient’s room where the Private Nurse responded to the enquiry. The first respondent may have been under stress caring for her own patients, and didn’t give it a second thought (this happens)! I’ve neither read nor heard anything of the fact that she was relieving on the switchboard (never happens!) apart from suppositions aired on this blog!
That’s actually not a bad explanation at all Fidopuss. It would certainly clear up some of the obvious loose ends in this story. It would also give some clarification as to why this nurse may have felt so personally responsible, and why there otherwise would appear to be no policy on security and confidentiality at this hospital. Your idea provides an excellent alternative explanation. And a nurse relieving on the Switchboard? Never happens here that I’ve ever seen even after many years in Private and Public hospitals, but this is the UK in a time of austerity. Its possible the switchboard at this time was no more than calls transferred to a DECT. phone after hours. Lots we just don’t know.
The REAL culprits in this whole sorry saga are the 10 Board members of Southern Cross / Austereo (SCA) which own 2Day FM – of which CEO Holleran is just one.
Like any company worth its salt, it is the Board of Directors that set the policy, set the culture for the Company to live and die by.
It is this policy and culture that underlings like these 2 starry-eyed Kyle and Jackie O wannabes – AND their bosses (like Hot 30 Executive Prodcuer Emily Mills) one and 2 steps further up the food chain who decide what goes to air and what doesn’t – go back to in their jobs.
It is this policy and culture that should be looked at as the first step to ensure that this does not happen again.
When you look at who is on the Board itself – it is almost as scary as the makeup of the Board of Network Ten.
The Chairman of the SCA Board is no less a figure than Max “the axe” Moore-Wilton – the man who callously sacked 5,500 public servants as head of Prime Minister and Cabinet in the first 3 years of the Howard Government – and was “rewarded” with an AM as “thanks” from Howard as a result. Hence, his nickname – “the axe”.
Just ask anyone who lived in Canberra or worked in the Public Service circa 1996-2000 about Max “the axe”.
Max “the axe” then sold off and privatised Australia’s airports as head of the Airports Commisssion with more job losses in the period 2001 to 2004 after that – contributing indirectly to the demise of Ansett Australia (remember them!!).
So you start off with a ruthless SOB with no idea of codes of practice or ethics – let alone in media. This buffoon has made a career out of sacking people.
The rest of the board behind Max “the axe” is made up of 6 bankers/investment hedge fund boffins, a token female in Marina Darling who also has their sole skerrick of legal expertise, and ONLY ONE member with any Media background or training in Anthony Bell – also the head of Free TV Australia. Holleran makes up the 10.
So here you have a board – the people that set the policy and the culture remember – made up of people who are only interested in the bottom line at all cost and could not give a tinker’s cuss about broadcast codes or moral standards. Their retention of Kyle Sandilands should say it all to you.
And apart from Bell this board have never set foot in a radio or TV studio in their lives, never put a program to air, and never have produced one second of live or recorded content. NOT. ONE. IOTA.
The only time this Board moved into action on this incident was on Sunday after when Coles and Telstra pulled the pin on their cash and the dollars started going out the door.
This Board are also petrified about Scotland Yard stepping in. They have already had discussions with the NSW Police – and got the all clear I have been told by my sources – about getting on a plane out to Australia to extradite these 2 Kyle and Jackie O wannabes plus others – back to the UK.
Do you really think that this Board will protect these 2 if that happens?……You know the answer. They will be fed to the wolves to protect the Share price and the hides of Max “the axe” and this board of incompetants.
The late rugby league coach Jack Gibson had an old saying…that if your front office was at the top of their game, then your team would be at the top of their game on the field.
No different here – you have a Board and CEO that knows their brief, the rest runs like clockwork.
You look at this Board – and do you really expect anything less?
THE FISH ROTS FROM THE HEAD, FOLKS!!
Tony, that clears heaps in my mind, so the $500,000 donation, possibly is an attempt to limit the damage to the bottom line, possibly?
Yeh I was in Canberra at that time and had to move as the building industry collapsed. I think Max the Axe need to be brought back to Canberra and do some more sackings to another Labor Government oversized public service. Really what you say does not have much substance. I want facts!
My 2cents worth something is wrong with the whole story a nurse is surround by death every day of the week and they deal with it as partner has for years,but a prank call and bang she kills her self over that. i dont think so more to this story than what you are all being told.
A very good story on the SMH site today titled: ‘Gotcha’ call has gotta go
It is written by Cherie Romaro who has held senior programming and management positions in radio and television for the past three decades, including time as program director for the Southern Cross Austereo station 2Day FM
“My professional boundaries were simple: no permission, no broadcast; it had to be compelling radio, cannot hurt anyone and importantly, had to let the caller in on “the reveal” to give them a voice and an opportunity to share the joke.”
It is well worth a read from an insider who knows how it works.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/gotcha-call-has-gotta-go-20121211-2b6tb.html#ixzz2EkEn3x5i
i read that Shane and fair enough my problem is it wouldn’t be a story if it wasn’t for the nurse?I feel that it is being used for a purpose because no one has any idea why she commit suicide but they where quick to link it to the prank.What are your views on this?
I understand there were numerous complaints before she committed suicide based on what others have said which maybe nothing would have come from it. Without a doubt it certainly would not have been as big a story as it is if she had not committed suicide.
But you are only looking at one side. If the DJs had not broken the law and/or had got permission from the nurses first then it would have never been a story.
If 2Day FM had of asked for permission from the nurses they would have said no. Why? Because at the very least they would have lost their jobs and maybe one of them would have faced charges for breaching UK privacy laws.
The two DJs also have linked the call to the suicide at least to some degree, so why wouldn’t the average person.
And as I write, this has just popped up on the SMH website:
“THE owners of the radio network at the centre of the royal prank call controversy have vowed to donate all profits from advertising on 2Day FM for the remainder of the year to ”an appropriate memorial fund” that will ”directly benefit the family of Jacintha Saldanha”, the Indian-born British nurse who was found dead, apparently by her own hand, last Friday.”
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/radio-prank-network-to-donate-profits-to-memorial-fund-20121211-2b7wy.html#ixzz2EkZfzWLs
A payout means : watch this space,will come back and bite the media on the b****m
You better believe it Gazza – this “payout” to the family is now nothing more than “hush money” to the deceased’s family to keep Scotland Yard out of this.
You have had a House Of Commons MP make noises in the last 24 hours about the deceased’s family “wanting to know the facts” of what happened.
That is code for: Police are investigating.
Remember – Scotland Yard will be under pressure from Fleet Street to come up with something on this – and quick.
These 2 DJ’s – and maybe their Producers like Emily Mills – have some sleepless nights ahead of them.
No wonder Mel Grieg was crying, Michael Christian was all serious – AND they were sticking to a pre-coached message in their interviews.
I would be desperate too if I saw my dream career go up in smoke before my eyes – AND be looking at time in the slammer in another country to boot.
Watch this space indeed.
I wonder if those who control 2Day FM, if it was 3 months, till the end of the year, would they make the same offer. I hope their advertisers demand a longer period than 3 weeks. All 2dayFM want, is their revenue back, and to let the Dj’s be the scape goats.
Replying to myself here, I do hope if there is a decent payout to the family, that the majority of it goes to the children, as many others have commented, there is much more to this story, than we are all privy to.
I heard on the news that this nurse left a letter for her family which has not been made public. I think that after these 2 DJ’s have had to take most of the blame for her death, it should be made public immediately. I do not believe that this prank affected her in any way. Surely we will find out what is in this letter. If I were one of the DJ’s I would be phoning the Police in London and demanding that the letter be read to me.
@Shane Well Shane i could say the same that you are only looking at one side of the story.
” The two DJs also have linked the call to the suicide at least to some degree, so why wouldn’t the average person.”
Well im not the average person i look at the whole story to see if its been engineered for the public, so they agree to new laws just like nicola roxon free speech bill.
I just have to make another comment here. Another big tragedy in this incident is the thinking/interpretation of many people.
I find it both disappointing and disgusting to see so many comments (over 200) on this topic. While it is sad that someone took their own life, I find it odd that so many daggers have come out wanting to try these silly pranksters for murder or similar. It seems that there has been little to no thought about what that girl was going through before the prank call. Like I said in a previous post, it seems that the person who sneezes at the end must take all the blame for whatever happened before in that person’s life, and after all we must find somebody to blame don’t we?
Yet at the same time we have posts on here about real nasty, cunning, devious and filthy criminals all the way up to the top and we might get a few dozen comments on it. A different story i hear you say! How about the death threats, taunts and intimidation of, for example, Kathy Jackson? These people want to cause serious harm to anyone who exposes their criminal ways but all you do-gooders don’t utter a word because you don’t know what is going and and you’re simply not interested. Or how about the destruction of people’s lives by taking their hard earnt savings/union dues/taxes/superannuation or destroying the prosperity of our nation to line their own pockets? Nah, nobody cares.
Try not to toot your horn at anyone, for if someone happens to have a heart attack out of fright then all the armchair judges (like yourselves) will come after you for being insensitive and thoughtless for so recklessly endangering and killing another person.
Its because the clear information in the other articles means there’s very little to argue about. Many of the posts here are replies and retorts, all part of a good Net-based rumble. Most people who follow this site tend to be of the same mind on most of the issues covered here. This one is different, even though the point about law itself has largely been sidelined.
You don’t seriously think anyone in the media will be charged over this matter do you. The first statement made by Rhys Holleran, CEO of 2DAY-FM was “We didn’t do anything wrong”. Then the MSM commentariat went in to bat en masse for the two poor little darlings who are principally responsible for this tragic suicide. Then came the usual PR spin from a whole stack of spinners in Sydney complaining about the way the PR was handled. Can you believe that. A woman has suicided and all they can talk about is PR. The more I hear about episodes like this the more likely I think that Gillard’s National News Media censorship department will be enacted by PM Gillard or Abbott. Much as I hate to say it, there are no votes any more in protecting the media. They ride over the top of everyone’s right to privacy and clear guilt except when it’s one of their own. Most thinking people should regard them as collective self-serving scum. Blaming it on cultural differences and claiming the station tried to contact the hospital before putting the outrage to air, and saying Prince Charles thought it was funny, is all irrelevant nonsense. The two presenters are as guilty as hell and Holleran should have resigned days ago.
“2Day FM DJs accused of ‘playing dumb’ on prank rules”
“The radio DJs linked to the death of the British nurse Jacintha Saldanha had been trained “not to air any prank calls without permission” and are now “playing dumb”, a source from besieged Sydney station 2Day FM claims.”
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/2day-fm-djs-accused-of-playing-dumb-on-prank-rules-20121212-2b9dk.html#ixzz2EoHaJaKe
Time for the letter to be released: or no money.
From The Sydney Morning Herald – 20/12/12
The questions Austereo must answer
Thirteen days ago, British nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead. Her grieving family is now asking for the “full facts” about the hoax call that preceded her death. Yet the radio network responsible for the hoax – Southern Cross Austereo – is refusing to give them these facts or release them publicly.
Meanwhile, Austereo CEO Rhys Holleran continues to evade legitimate queries about how the hoax unfolded and the actions of his employees. In place of straight answers, he appears to be repeating scripted statements, bereft of detail, about “this tragic and unforseen event”.
Fairfax Media again calls on the company to give clear and direct responses to these questions:
•Was it appropriate to prank call a hospital?
•Was it appropriate to seek private medical information about a sick, pregnant woman?
•Whose idea was this prank?
•The DJs, Michael Christian and Mel Greig, didn’t expect to obtain private medical information about Kate Middleton – but when they did, why didn’t they end that call immediately?
•Why was it then deemed appropriate to broadcast that private medical information on a national radio network – and make that segment available to a worldwide audience?
•Mr Holleran claims his employees tried “at least five times” to contact the hospital to get permission to broadcast the segment. Why did they do this?
•Who made these phone calls?
•If permission was not obtained, why was the segment aired?
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-questions-austereo-must-answer-20121220-2boer.html
Well that’s that over then. Move along folks, nothing to see here.
I would have thought that there was a breach of Section 6 of the Telecommunications Interception Act 1979.
Didn’t you know that Laws and justice is only for the working people pollies and other people with money are allowed to get away with all. our PM is an example. Eddie Abied another Slipper is another and Thomson is probably another shall I go on ? no there is not enough paper. Allan Myalup WA.