More media intrusion leading to unintended, yet tragic, consequences. 

 

I didn't see a huge fuss made about it here, although I didn't read the papers' reactions, just the TV news, so I don't know if they over-reacted, or not. I'd bet that the poor nurse had some sort of depressive illness already, but one in four of us will suffer mental health problems, so the chances of these sort of pranks backfiring are pretty high. The fact that they chose to air the confidential information, and no doubt would have done so even if the information had been of an embarrassing nature, is the worst thing, imo. Maybe this preyed on her mind and sent her over the edge?  

Well said Carnelian  

Well said Carnellian.

The radio station.

 

Just like they are to blame for this disgusting unfunny stunt.

But they obviously are responsible, they clearly cant control their DJ's.

Yes I agree  a bit of fun that went wrong, someone from a different country in my opinion would not have realised they were being hoaxed.

Jancintha was of Indian descent probably would not recognise the accent .

 rest in peace you lovely person

I am not blaming anyone let them have It on their own minds (for a laugh )why are they in hiding...come out and explain ..i would be more forgiving

and now a caring nurse has died ,,and the post mortem begins oh she must have  something in her life  that made her do It .

 

        sorry for the rant such a sad story  

The following is a letter sent to 2day fm radio station today from the hospital where Jacintha worked expressing their disgust:
Lord Glenarthur's letter to SCA chairman Max Moore-Wilton

I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms about the hoax call made from your radio station, 2DayFM, to this hospital last Tuesday.

The two DJs at the centre of the royal hospital hoax call tragedy "have expressed a desire to speak" to the media.

 

Crisis talks are under way at the company that owns 2Day FM, whose presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian duped Jacintha Saldanha into helping reveal details about the Duchess of Cambridge's health.

It led to Ms Saldanha's apparent suicide days later.

 

A spokesman for Southern Cross Austereo - 2Day FM's parent company - said: "They have expressed a desire to speak. We haven't ascertained when they're ready for that and how we're going to organise that, but they certainly want to."

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1022...nt-to-speak-to-media

At the end of the day, even without this poor woman's suicide the DJ's jeopardised the career of a hard working nurse going about her job as best she could, I am a nurse of 22 years and I can tell you 100% she would have been in trouble whatever the hospital she works for says, she would have known this and most nurses I know all knew this, there was absolutely no thought for the nurses involved and what a childish prank could cost them, very selfish, and not funny in the slightest,

totally agree 

Well of course, this is making their name around the world, they want to make the most of their new fame...they'll be in panto as the villain this time next year.

The latest from the BBC is that the one of the DJ, Michael Christian, has been speaking on another radio station and claimed that they tried to contact the nurses 5 times prior to broadcast. The implication (although it's unconfirmed) is that they failed, but went ahead with the broadcast anyway.

Legal advice from Australia is that they may have broken several laws, including not informing the nurses that the phone call was being recorded, and broadcasting without permission...

 

 

I would have thought  that being vilified in the DM,and reading about the campaign to have them sacked, would have had a far greater impact on the nurse than the  actual call.

I'm getting a bit p'd off with Lorraine Kelly's pious face saying how terrible it was to call a hospital where hard pressed nurses are already over-stretched.    Just a small point, but it wasn't an NHS ward, it was a private hospital and from the sound of the call the nurse was one to one with Kate and it was 5.30 in the morning.    Nobody could have foreseen what would happen - I'm getting annoyed at all the implications that they somehow should have.    Nice to have 20/20 vision in hindsight.  I feel so sorry for the DJs

I do to.

 

I just saw the interview with them, they don't come across as the 'arrogant' callous  twonks that the DM would have us believe.Our press just refuses to learn, they went to town on the nurses ,which for whatever reasons ended in tragedy and now the same sanctimonious press are doing the same to these two DJ's.

 

Ello kaffs,x

http://www.news.com.au/nationa...do4eg9-1226533842984

ello J x   Was just thinking... maybe they'll be happy if one of the dj's offs themselves.   TBH they'd have more reason than the nurse imo

Just watched the interview myself, and I thought there were some interesting things in it. I certainly didn't think the DJs came across as "arrogant" (but then I never did), but I did think they appeared rather naive. They seem to have just assumed that the people they were calling would automatically get the joke, and I don't think they appreciated the "cultural" differences present in this case. Also, because they expected to be caught-out, they don't seem to have given too much thought as to what would happen if they actually got through.

 

Listening to the BBC, there still seems to be some confusion over the procedures involved, but I got the impression that the DJs didn't consider the legal issues to be their responsibility, and they'd be sorted out by someone-else further up the chain. If true, then that would put pressure back on the radio station and its processes. Greig certainly seemed to admit that they didn't identify themselves to the nurses (that was one of the things to be dealt with later through the "process"), and that in itself is probably a breach of ACMA rules.

 

As for the British press: I deliberately avoided most of the early reporting of this story and, with hindsight, I'm glad I did. There's some furious backtracking going on (the next edition of Private Eye's going to be very interesting), but some of the stuff still out there's pretty horrible. I totally agree: they don't seem to have learnt anything. At the very least, they probably made things worse...

Kaffy, Lorraine Kelly makes me yak at the best of times and I really understand what your saying, I wish these presenters would see the point that it has nothing to do with being overstretched or us being "angels" ( a saying I loathe btw, as a nurse it's quite condescending ) but the potential for a huge NMC disciplinary, potential sacking, loss of income etc etc, I cannot stress how serious these things are taken, I also teach student nurses and I can't push the point enough, it's so easy to get caught out as it is, in these days of social networking without big corporations trying to trip you up in the most bizarre circumstances, those poor DJ's this morning looked broken and I think there Lives are changed forever too, and they have accepted accountability for the part they played , wonder how long before the big boys come out and do the same instead of hiding behind 2 devastated young people

Hi Ju... it really makes me angry that they seem to be being made scapegoats.    At the end of the day, nobody could have foreseen what happened, they expected to get to a switchboard and be cut off - but most of all - the call was recorded and it's broadcast was sanctioned by management and legal teams.    Are they being interviewed and sitting there feeling like they killed someone?   Not that I've seen.     Nor should anyone though.   

 

I'll be very interested to see what comes out at the inquest.   There was an Aussie on the TV this morning (not sure who he was) but he was gently suggesting that perhaps the hospital might not have been as supportive as they might have been.  Shifting blame?   Perhaps - but a valid point.     This is a private hospital, known for treating royalty and celebrities - surely they have a process for handling telephone calls for that very reason?  What was a nurse doing being the only person available to answer the phone anyway - I'm willing to bet they have enough cash to pay a 24 hours answering service who should have been savvy enough to spot a hoaxer.   What if Kate, god forbid, had been worse.... and the caller had been a red top journalist?

 

I just think these poor DJs are having all sorts of hate piled on them for an innocent joke (find it funny or unfunny as you wish) but there are lot of people who are just as culpable, if not more so.   

I dont have any sympathy for the dj's...sorry...

Seriously?   You're happy that they're made to feel like murderers because a prank backfired?

I think you've hit the nail on the head with the hospital, I bet the 2 nurses involved didn't get a pat on the head and told it wasn't in any way their fault, we are not supposed to give any information at all, over the phone, and I think in this situation one nurse passed the call to the other, and nurse number 2 presumed the call had been checked out, this is entirely guesswork on my part, but like you i don't really understand why royal security was not present to clear all calls relating to Kate, I still feel the "prank" was stupid and in very poor taste, hospitals are generally not places for funny jokes, and I'm angry the station jepoardised 2 careers, but I actually felt like crying watching those 2 poor DJ's this morning.

First I've heard about them being called murderers. 

I didn't say they'd been called murderers - i said they were being made to feel that way.    If someone told me I was responsible for someone's death, that's how I'd feel.

Shocking. 

 

That poor nurse must have had other problems in her life, it seems as though the short space of time between incidents must have been a bit of a frenzy in her mind.  If the British media hadn't made such an over the top deal about the whole thing she might have had time to settle her mind and get some help but instead was probably hounded by journos trying to get their slice of the big story. 

 

Maybe THEY are the ones who should be on TV saying sorry aswell.

DITTO.

 

Seriously .....who could have foreseen that this poor woman would take her own life? I accept that in hindsight the prank was ill judged and I accept that Hospitals are for sick people and not really an environment for pranks.

 

I'm a bit  that people can't feel any sympathy for the DJ's. It's a dreadful thing to have on your conscience - it doesn't detract for the sympathy I have for this woman's family.

 

Tragic all round TBH.

When the death of Jacintha was known.Mel Greig deleted her twitter account 

Michael Christian continued on 'we are known all over the world' to name a few of his comments.

 

They are both young and still can't understand where they have gone wrong

(would they do It again ...no answer) .

 

Of course people don't hold them responsible for her death but do they realise how she must have felt away from her family ..actually putting them through to the ward..the reprimand she surely must have had ....Im sure her children must be bewildered and if they are sorry they should bl..dy well be

I have some sympathy with the female dj, but her companion hasn't convinced me. Whichever way it's looked at, they never thought of the staff and what would become of them (especially as they are now suspended themselves).

That's the first thing I wondered about too. It's interesting that when the story was first reported, everyone assumed she was a switchboard operator, and there was some surprise when she turned out to be a nurse...

The very same british media getting all indignant etc over this,the same ones that hack into private phones etc of murder victims..scum.

If these 2 dj's hadnt played such a stupid idiotic prank in the name of rating we wouldnt be talking about this tragedy now, would we?

neither do I, nor the radio station bosses either,  it wasn't a joke it was a prank and unless you know the person involved they are never a good idea

I think we need a re-think on exactly when a 'prank' becomes an extremely distasteful invasion of someone's else's life and privacy.

They both say that they do the prank calls ,record them and it is then screened by producers and others  before it goes to air.

I do not believe them when they say they didn't get excited having got  through and obtained the updated info on Kate.I think they would have high fived each other in getting such a scoop.

I must admit I listen to out local radio who do prank calls on the public,they call and tell someone that their hoilday has been cancelled /or a delivery of tons of fish is on it way.The people on the other end do get peed off and angry but you never think that the call could result in a death.

The only victims in this is the two kids that have ben left without their mum .

wouldnt be surprised if a new thread is started soon

 *aussie dj kills herself*

 

i gotta admit i laughed when i heard prank..ive heard worse & ive heard better

prank was approved by radio station and lawyers

 

its what djs do..like what tim shaw used to do on kerrang, he used to have me in bits with his phone calls (he got sacked!)

 

i dont think djs should take full blame

admitidley it wouldnt have happened if they hadnt called

 

 

its just bloody terrible what happened

and now press are gonna hound these dj's until they get a 'result'

 

We wouldn't be talking about it no, but that doesn't mean that nurse wouldn't have killed herself for some other reason at some other stage in her life.  They may have tipped her over the edge but I'm sure she had problems before all this....I just can't see how it would be her answer to something like this unless she already had stuff going on that she couldn't deal with.  As I also said before....she probably got hounded by the press in the time between the calls and her death so they also play a part in this.

yep