Australian DJs apologize for royal hoax call

By KRISTEN GELINEAU

World Dec. 11, 2012 - 07:08AM JST ( 12 )

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12 Comments

1

bass4funkDec. 11, 2012 - 09:24AM JST

So now we have the blame game going, what I want to know is, are they sorry for possibly being responsible for this woman wanting to kill herself or are they sorry, because they are suspended and are now realize that the public outrage is so huge and that they could possibly be terminated from their jobs. This is a NO brainer! Even if the request came from the top, they could have and should have used basic common sense that this was a VERY bad idea to even attempt. Now these two douche bags can live with this on their conscious for the rest of their lives. I don't need a public apology from them, means nothing to me, but they should fly to London have an audience with both the family of this woman and the royal family and deeply ask for THEIR forgiveness, if they really are truly sincere and that would show real responsibility and accountability on their part.
2

Outta hereDec. 11, 2012 - 10:06AM JST

Bass4funk,

Given that the prank was not their idea, given that the prank was ok'd by the stations ,egal reps and upper management l guess its easy to pin the blame on these two even though their is shared guilt with others.

And I seriously doubt that this call is the only thing that led to this persons suicide. Was she the butt of jokes from her colleagues over it, was she facing discipline from the hospital, did she have a history of mental issues?

Yes the two radio presenters share the blame but only a portion and not the whole blame. But sadly its easier to pin the blame on the visible target and actually not look at the bigger picture hey?
2

AKBfanDec. 11, 2012 - 10:50AM JST

What does this type of "prank" add to the sum of human happiness? More and more of the garbage infects our media - and sometimes bad consequences ensue....
2

lucabrasiDec. 11, 2012 - 10:55AM JST

What does this type of "prank" add to the sum of human happiness?

Asks AKBfan. ; )
2

Peter PayneDec. 11, 2012 - 11:00AM JST

Maybe we all need to obsess less about famous people. They're just frigging people.
0

JA_CruiseDec. 11, 2012 - 11:34AM JST

it does not mention it was suicide and the cause of death was unknown. So leaves this issue in the air and really would be a tragedy if it was a suicide.
0

Zen studentDec. 11, 2012 - 12:25PM JST

We need more information on whether this was a suicide-related death or not. She could have been suffering from health problems for a while (including depression), for all we know.

I am in no way trying to defend the radio station thought. In fact, I find the quality of Australian talkshow radio very poor and the content very UNfunny.
1

globalwatcherDec. 11, 2012 - 02:41PM JST

bass4funkDec. 11, 2012 - 09:24AM JST

bass, you and I never agree when it comes to political ideology, but for this one, I agree with you totally. A good post. We are all accountable and responsible for what we do and what we say. The is an other side of Freedom. .
-2

CosDec. 11, 2012 - 03:18PM JST

They should not apologize. That was a lame joke, but they said nothing offensive or whatever. You all have a silly uncle/cousin that calls saying he is Sanma calling your for a TV show or your neighbor complaining of the noise... Let's arrest him too in prevention in case some day someone might take it badly ? I wish the hospital apologize. They are the only at fault (blatant violation of privacy and medical secret). The hoax only revealed their malpractice. I don't understand how they dare coming in the media with that chip on their shoulder and blaming others.

We need more information on whether this was a suicide-related death or not. She could have been suffering from health problems for a while (including depression), for all we know.

Whatever. A prank can only been the trigger to a suicide. The woman have been living a nurse dorm while her family was in another city. Is not her loneliness a more likely cause ? Not our business, but well if you tell the world it's a public matter, give all the information so we can judge.
1

Heda_MadnessDec. 11, 2012 - 03:44PM JST

I'm very uncomfortable with the way the organisation has handled it. They made a brief apology on their website. The CEO repeated that brief apology and said they did nothing illegal. The board met and responded to the letter from the hospital but at no point has any of this felt genuine or heartfelt.

Yesterday they claimed they'd tried to contact the hospital on five occasions a claim which has been strongly denied by the hospital.

It's only now their feels to be genuine remorse from the presenters. She was clearly upset, he less so. I have a lot more sympathy for her, he on the other hand kept up his claim that it was the best prank ever, well after the initial criticism.
1

Thunderbird2Dec. 11, 2012 - 09:37PM JST

The hospital has said several times now that the nurse was NOT disciplined, so you can't use that as a trigger. If it was depression, then it must be the biggest coincidence of all time that it affected her just after this prank call.

Face it, these idiots caused her to pass through a fake call to Kate's ward nurse... so my guess is that the enormity of what had happened hit her like a ton of bricks and sent her into a downward spiral. They also claimed that they thought they would have been hung up on... so why didn't they just call it quits and end it? Any normal person would realise they've gone too far... not these idiots.
0

LostinNagoyaDec. 12, 2012 - 08:07AM JST

@Cos: apparently you don't have reserves to judge decency based on your personal experiences. What may be inocous in your world, may be outrageous in other people's world.

It was just released that she left a letter for her family, so it was indeed a suicide. She was wrong taking her own life and leaving the loved ones, but the DJs are even wronger. IMO, they should be fined and jailed, to remind people that jokes may be funny to a few, a tragedy to a lot.