2DayFM?

[Jonzjob]

I wonder if they will still be here 2MorrowFM?

BBC News - Australian DJs face backlash over hoax death

I actually e-mailed them to ask if they were happy and when their next hoax call would bring them a cheap laugh? I haven't had a reply.

Edit : - I forgot to say that one of their 'phone pranks' they got a 13 year old girl to admit that she had cancer! Nice people?

[wheelinround]

Sadly John its not just here that this sort of laugh is acquired from idiots like these who just have no idea how far shyte like this can go.

Media have laws of their own backed by Moguls after bigger bucks. I mean what other things have come up.

"The Chasers stunt a few years back when they impersonated and gained access through security which was supposed to be Sydney's highest level ever".

I read a few years back on a UK media site about a DJ talking to a young person and edging them on to commit suicide.

Even Prince Charles did get a chuckle out of it looking at the original UK Daily Mail article and video, Prior the death of the nurse. I bet she got a bloody good bollocking.

[FenceFurniture]

Hmmm...well, I think a certain amount of ambivalence is required here, before jumping onto how the British tabloids would like everyone to react (and therefore purchase the daily paper).

Let me say at the outset that in no way do I necessarily condone or justify the prank call, and of course it's a tragedy that the mother of two young children should feel compelled to take her own life.

However, this was not an issue to take your life for - that reaction is beyond extreme. We do not know of any underlying issues that Jacintha may have had, and her reaction suggests to me that there must have been underlying issues. It's not like she put the call through to Kate herself, only to the Duty Nurse, and it was the DN that spilled her guts on Kate's health status. Mind you, even if Jacintha had put the call direct to Kate, it's still not worth topping yourself over.

We must remember that the British tabloids are the absolute masters of whipping up hysteria - all to sell "news"papers. They are the world benchmark of gutter press. The Australian tabloids, by comparison, are mere rural local papers.

Both nurses got fooled (somehow) by two people who were staggered that they got past the first post. It seems to me that they were fully expecting to be told to naff off within a few seconds. Jacintha was caught out for "not thinking it through properly". Had nobody briefed the staff on protocol when Kate was admitted??? This is a hospital that several members of the Royal Family have been in.

I feel that the only thing that the two DJs have done (in this case, anyway) is to expose a fundamental lack of staff training or lack of protocol procedures to be followed by the hospital management.

Did Jacintha really think that the queen dials her own phone calls? Clearly a secretary would make the call, speak first, and brief the call receiver on what was about to happen.

Whether or not they should indulge in prank calls is another matter, but they cannot be blamed for the nurse killing herself. To do so would be to also acknowledge as justifiable that (for example) when a man beats the crap out of his female partner for the most minor "perceived offence" and then says to her "look what you made me do!" That's utter bullshyte, he chose to do it. Just as Jacintha chose to take her life.

At the end of the day, what was this all about? It was about the media's fascination with Royal puking. WOW- WHAT A STORY! World significance, that one. What's next - the dreaded Royal Fart story? Please, let's be a bit sensible about this. We should remember that it was because this whole puking story was so bloody ridiculous in the first place that it deserved some kind of send-up. Clearly it does not require a life sacrifice.

[FenceFurniture]

"The Chasers stunt a few years back when they impersonated and gained access through security which was supposed to be Sydney's highest level ever".

Ray, better to have the security weakness exposed by these innocuous chaps, than some terrorist with real intent. Had they not gotten through, the security people would have all patted themselves on the back with "good job", when it clearly wasn't.

[artme]

Bravo FF!!

I was going to write in exactly the same tone. I would have been a little more brutal, however.

How poorly trained and downrigh bloodY stupid were both of the staff involved?

Before Lord Glenarthur became so indignant he should have looked into all of this and then given a more considered
appraisal and response.

I think the fact that this prank was performed by colonials""(of low breeding no doubt ) has added to0 the furore in the UK.

[jack620]

Whether or not they should indulge in prank calls is another matter, but they cannot be blamed for the nurse killing herself. To do so would be to also acknowledge as justifiable that (for example) when a man beats the crap out of his female partner for the most minor "perceived offence" and then says to her "look what you made me do!" That's utter bullshyte, he chose to do it. Just as Jacintha chose to take her life.

Ask yourself one simple question: would the nurse still be alive today if not for this dopey prank? If the answer is "yes" then the DJs must take some of the blame. It used to known as taking responsibility for your actions (rather than gutlessly shutting down your Twitter account to avoid criticism).

Every prank has a victim. Often it's a hapless employee who has let his or her guard down and allowed the pranksters to embarrass the organisation that employs them.

And your wife-beater analogy doesn't make sense.

[BobL]

Every prank has a victim.

Yep I agree. I'm all for taking the out of people you already know and can take it, but for people you don't know one has to tread a lot more carefully.

At the very least the DJs should have immediately openly accepted responsibility for instigating the prank and spoken directly to everyone concerned and apologised to them. This might have helped to diffuse the situation.

[snowyskiesau]

I can't imagine the bollocking that the nurse would have received from the hospital for putting the call through.
The hospital would therefore have to shoulder a good deal of the blame. You would imagine that they would have protocols in place for VIPs.

That someone would think that some minor embarrassment to the royal family was more important then their own life, is the real tragedy.

[FenceFurniture]

Ask yourself one simple question: would the nurse still be alive today if not for this dopey prank? If the answer is "yes" then the DJs must take some of the blame. It used to known as taking responsibility for your actions (rather than gutlessly shutting down your Twitter account to avoid criticism).

Every prank has a victim. Often it's a hapless employee who has let his or her guard down and allowed the pranksters to embarrass the organisation that employs them.

And your wife-beater analogy doesn't make sense.

The analogy makes perfect sense:
The wife-beater says that the wife made him beat her
The British tabloids say that the DJs made Jacintha commit suicide.

Anybody who says "you make me angry" is completely incorrect, and trying desperately to justify their actions. What is actually going on there is that they choose to become angry, just as they can choose not to. The former is just a pathetic attempt to shift the blame, and that's what the hospital admin is desperately trying to do atm.

"Sleeping with the Enemy", although a work of fiction, gave a stark view of this, where the wife was beaten senseless because the bathroom towels were not straight, and for various other ridiculously minor things (like cans of food not sorted correctly in the cupboards et al). It's all too easy to see this being true, unfortunately.

Should the wife take some of the blame? Of course not.

Would Jacintha be alive today if the call had not been placed? Extremely likely that she would be, at least for the time being. The point I am making is that nobody made her do it - she chose her action. Would she be alive in a few months time if some other calmity happened in her life? Possibly not. We just don't know the background atm, and it may or may not surface in the next few days/weeks.

I wonder how people would regard this if it surfaced that she had been under extreme pressure from her ex-husband, or if perhaps she had just come off anti-depressants. Perhaps she had an undiagnosed mental illness (and I don't say that in a derogatory way).

"If the answer is "yes" then the DJs must take some of the blame."
Well, if that's true, who takes the rest of the blame? And clearly it would seem that they have taken some of the blame - it was their choice to go off-air, and they are reported to be "shattered".

Nor do I think that shutting down their Twitter a/c is gutless. Remember Charlotte Dawson? This won't prevent them copping flack, they'll still cop it from the mainstream media.

The Independent's editor Chris Blackhurst had this too say:
"People play jokes all the time, in all walks of life. Sometimes they backfire. Now and again, the consequences are out of all proportion to the original jape. Likewise, accidents occur every day because of an unforeseen danger.

"I can't excuse [the presenters]. But a little perspective is required."

Tell me Jack, would you have topped yourself over this?

[FenceFurniture]

I can't imagine the bollocking that the nurse would have received from the hospital for putting the call through.
The hospital would therefore have to shoulder a good deal of the blame. You would imagine that they would have protocols in place for VIPs.

That someone would think that some minor embarrassment to the royal family was more important then their own life, is the real tragedy.

Yep, and I reckon that therein lies the heart of the matter.

[wheelinround]

Ray, better to have the security weakness exposed by these innocuous chaps, than some terrorist with real intent. Had they not gotten through, the security people would have all patted themselves on the back with "good job", when it clearly wasn't.

They did pat themselves on the back thats the big problem.

Fact I wasn't just going off the media's recent beat up and no I do not believe all I read least of all from anything Murdoch owns.

Media has been doing things which bring fear into the hearts and minds of many for a long time. I was brought up on this one.





Once again we are passing the issue of Impersonation is against the law at this level, had any of us done the same things we would not have got off at all.

This seems to be acceptable with in media circles no matter which or what it is for similar situations all round the world to give us a laugh, gain cred points and ratings.

Here's a more recent one Extremely Scary Ghost Elevator Prank in Brazil - YouTube

Not happy with that one they did this one

Extremely Scary Corpse Elevator Prank in Brazil - YouTube

Now if it was your aged mother or father in there with a weak heart or similar situation or pregnant wife etc etc.
I guess what your saying is that media are allowed to do anything they like regardless of the outcome, bit like our sports people getting let off just cause they are top of their game.

I agree the poor nurse had no reason to take her own life.

We all pull pranks, stunts etc some are stupid enough to be life threatening and its only after we consider what could have been the out come or in some situations see the real life out comes.

Hence why we now have the ban on apprentices being initiated, I saw one almost drown stuck upside down in a 44 gal drum of water and left he could not get out. Another fellow rag in back pocket it was lit burnt back as the rag had solvent highly flammable on it. Fellow locked in lockers who had a phobia of spiders and confined places.

Yep all stunts no harm done.

All done for other peoples enjoyment NOT he people whom the stunts involved.

[FenceFurniture]

Now if it was your aged mother or father in there with a weak heart or similar situation or pregnant wife etc etc.

I assume you mean in relation to one of your links, and not as the hospital receptionist.

I guess what your saying is that media are allowed to do anything they like regardless of the outcome, bit like our sports people getting let off just cause they are top of their game.

Absolutely not! I made no comment on whether or not they should have made the call. By and large I think that the media (mainly the commercial media) is irresponsible (to put it very mildly) far too often.

I am only commenting on the nurse's out of proportion reaction, followed by the media hysteria, that unfortunately influences the thinking of people who perhaps need to be told how to think (and I don't refer to you there). That's how they keep selling the papers. Thank Gawd that at least Murdoch has two less publications through which to spew his thought control.

[wheelinround]

I assume you mean in relation to one of your links, and not as the hospital receptionist.

Absolutely not! I made no comment on whether or not they should have made the call. By and large I think that the media (mainly the commercial media) is irresponsible (to put it very mildly) far too often.

I am only commenting on the nurse's out of proportion reaction, followed by the media hysteria, that unfortunately influences the thinking of people who perhaps need to be told how to think (and I don't refer to you there). That's how they keep selling the papers. Thank Gawd that at least Murdoch has two less publications through which to spew his thought control.

Any and all Media is. I never said you mentioned if they should make the call.

Any situation or do you consider not the whole or any situation she/they could have been a part of. I was really relating to just the video's but at what point do you consider a prank/stunt has gone to far? Who should be held responsible and what action if any taken regardless of outcome.

So what your saying is if Media want's to continue to make money all governments and the countries laws do not apply to them.

Thats true but Murdoch is consolidating all his interests isn't he got to remember he is not just newspapers so the proper gander is wide spread bit like fertilizer on mushrooms.

[artme]

A point not so far raised-
How much of the reaction has been influenced by political correctness
and our current propensity hang our hearts on our sleeve and indulge
in public grief and handwringing?

In my view too much twisting of events is done by everyone with access
to a microphone or a computer.

[jimbur]

The one sensible comment I've heard on this was when someone was asked what the station should do and the answer was, "have at least one adult in charge".
Using the word prank sums it up. It was a childish thing to do and most of us stop doing it once we leave school.
They recorded a conversation without informing the other person, seemingly an illegal act, then broadcast that conversation with the intention of maintaining or increasing their ratings i.e. to make money.
If nurses in the UK are under the same amount of stress and overwork as many are here, it's hardly surprising that they make a bad judgement call occasionally.