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Subscribe to RSSThe radio DJs who prank called the hospital where Princess Kate Middleton was being treated are facing tremendous backlash following the death of one of the nurses who spoke with them. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.
Updated at 8:30 a.m. ET: An Australian radio station that staged a prank phone call to the hospital where Duchess Kate was being treated has suspended the radio hosts involved and pulled all advertising after a nurse who was fooled by the call was found dead.
Jacintha Saldanha, who was found dead Friday, is seen in a handout photograph from London's Metropolitan Police.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian, radio hosts on the station 2Day FM in Sydney, called King Edward VII’s Hospital earlier in the week and pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles — and obtained information about Kate's closely watched pregnancy. They were said to be "shattered" by Jacintha Saldanha's death.
The body of Saldanha, 46, who had transferred their call through to Kate's room, was found Friday.
Rhys Holleran, CEO of the entertainment group that owns the radio station, announced at a press briefing that the show was suspended.
"Southern Cross Austereo and the hosts have mutually decided that the show will not return until further notice, out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy," Holleran said.
"This is a tragic event, and one that we could never have foreseen," he said.
'Our beloved Jacintha'
Police said in a statement Saturday that an autopsy would be held next week and a formal inquiry into her death, called an inquest, would open at a future date at Westminster Coroner’s Court.
They released a statement on behalf of Saldanha’s family.
"We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha,” the family said. “We would ask that the media respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
Nurse who was duped by prank call about Duchess Kate found dead
News of Saldanha’s death sparked a storm of outrage, including a flood of harsh comments aimed at the Australian hosts on social media, including these, published on Twitter.
- "A husband without a wife and two kids without a mother! All thanks to you two @MelGreigHot30 & @MContheradio SHAME ON YOU! #royalprank" (@vratnay)"
- "Hope #MelGreig & #MichaelChristianrealise the consequences of their actions resulted in the death of a honest person#Jacintha #2DayFM"
- "Michael Christian and Mel Greig should never be allowed to broadcast again in the public domain for the rest of their lives, imbeciles!" (@ALG4"
Police have said the circumstances of Saldanha's death are unexplained.
King Edward VII hospital in London is still reeling from being seriously punked by two radio DJ's who called and spoke to Kate's nurse. Meanwhile, the two Australians DJs apologized for their hoax. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
Radio DJs impersonate royals, get lowdown on Kate
There were at least two online petitions calling on the two to be dismissed for "gross misconduct," the Herald Sun reported.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Austereo announced that it was suspending all advertising on the station. That news came after supermarket chain Coles and telecommunications company Telstra announced they were pulling their ads from the station.
Duchess Kate discharged from the hospital
Holleran said the company was not commenting on the case, except to express condolences over the tragedy.
"We're very confident that we haven't done anything illegal," he said Saturday. "What happened was incredibly tragic and we're deeply saddened and we're incredibly affected by that.'
He also expressed concern for the hosts, who he described as "shattered" by the events.
Southern Cross Media Group CEO Rhys Holleran spoke to reporters concerning the death of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who was found dead after a radio prank call to Duchess Kate Middleton's hospital. He said that he and the radio hosts "were deeply saddened" and that the tragedy "could not have been reasonably foreseen."
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Leave a Comment:
The only thing more unbelievable than the outcome of this radio prank are the opinions of some of the people that comment on it.
This reminds me of that poor high school girl from Massachusetts a few years ago, who killed herself after being bullied. There has been a drive to stop bullying in schools, but that type of personality is with us throughout life. I've worked with adults like that - anything for a laugh. Some of us develop suitable responses, like ignoring or brushing it off, or getting angry at the perpetrator (very satisfying). But others are too weak to fight back. This unfortunate nurse was probably unable to deal with it because of other issues. I'm sure her life was stressful to begin with. This is a case of bullying - just like adolescent behavior. They should face the sternest consequences. And, kids, you're going to have to get a backbone early in life, because these idiots will be around forever.
Have heard "prank" calls made by D.J.'s for years. Personally don't find them "funny", think they are in poor taste. Just my opinion.
I'd be interested to know what training and support the hospital staff had around Kate's stay there. Were guidelines provided? Is there a standard protocol that should have been followed and wasn't? Was the staff left to just figure it out themselves? Seems to me that this whole thing could have been prevented if standard security been applied. My condolences to the nurse, her family, friends and collegues.
phatchat
The regular receptionist probably had full and thorough training in the protocol in transferring phone calls, but no receptionist was on duty at the time and only 5:30 am and the duty nurse answered the phone. Why would a duty nurse be trained in protocol for answering phone calls from outside?
Mrs Saldanha, a duty nurse, answered the phone because it was 05:30 GMT and
there was no receptionist on duty.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20649816
starbuck49: I agree. Naturally the receptionist should have been trained; I fault the hospital (and security for the Royals) for the flub of the call getting as far as it did. The whole hospital should have at least had a memo outlining security precautions to prevent having an incident like this. It wouldn't have been very hard. Pranksters and criminals don't save their activity for when the receptionist is on duty. That being said, please understand that I in no way fault the DJ's or the hospital for the tragic death of Mrs. Saldanha. The official cause of her death is still unknown, and we cannot know her state of mind as a result of this incident. A sad, sad story.
having grown up in a family, with an idiot father who loved these type of sick jokes, I can only comment on how this must have made her feel. She was in a position that she obviously had worked very hard for, that of being an official nurse of the royal family. After this, her career is finished, let alone her life everyday. I cannot tell you how damaging the incidents that my father did to me have been, and how I have had to cope with these all my life. Certainly the fact that if she did commit suicide, this is beyond comprehension. But to say "buck up and get over it", not in Britain...
It is truly sad that this woman felt that transferring one phone call to the Duchess's room under false pretense was worth her life. I believe the DJ's lacked common sense at the time, but she had to have been mentally unstable to think it was ok to leave her children motherless. I understand loyalty to the Royal Family, but what about the loyalty to her family?
I'm holding out for a full investigation on the nurse's medical condition. If she had -say-a weak heart, and this exacerbated it. Just wondering.
Great idea. Charles and Godzilla can adopt the nurse's child. I'm certain they can scrape up the money somewhere, say from the numerous trusts and doles they get just for being them. Hail Britannia!
Pranks and practical jokes have only one purpose and that is to get a laugh at someone else's expense. They are never, ever funny to the prankee or jokee. Just another form of bullying.
So says the sissy.
hank
are you that dumb?
A suicide the answer for your part in embarrassing the royal family? This reads like a page from James Clavell's Shogun and typifies the creepy allegiance many Brits feel toward the royals.
Anyone who holds the dj,s even slightly responsible is a moron. They are no more responsible than the lady at the coffee shop that might have been rude to her. I feel bad for her family but surely she made this choice long before the call incident.
The hospital should have (and probably will after this) security policy in place to prevent this from happening. Its a failure of the hospital management system.
If it was suicide, she indeed must have had issues beforehand. She did not take the time to get over what she had done. She was probably full of anxiety over the fact that this recording would go all over the internet.
Also, I do not know if the UK has this, but I'm sure they do have something like it, there is the HIPPA law. If that would've happened here, that would have been cause for her dismissal, and she most likely would never work in the profession again. A bad hoax gone wrong, it is a shame this had to happen.
Many Brits have a creepy allegiance to the monarchy. Why, who knows?
Did they cause her death? Was she unstable to begin with? Courts still out.
But just remember people, little thoughtless acts can have tragic inconceivable impacts.
She died from a bad case of stupid
unless you've experienced the entire world laughing at you, I wouldn't comment on having to be unstable to do this to herself. This is terrible.
"could not have been reasonably foreseen" I guess history is not his best subject
I know a lot of Aussies who must be really sad at this point however after some prank calls
disastrous things have happened before.
By the way can they bring up the DJ's on any kinds of charges for impersonating Royals? I want those to to feel an impact also.
biggdeal: Oh please. She had two kids to take care of; what a selfish and gutless woman. How stupid do you have to be. I'm sure the Queen is going to call the hospital unannounced and inquire about medical specifics. What a dumb b(*&^
Hank Lucky,
I pity you. You BELIEVE everything you read in the papers or on the internet, and you are ASSUMING this woman killed herself when there is NO evidence to this. The police have said the reasons for the nurse's death are "UNEXPLAINED." Unexplained does NOT mean suicide!
In what way does this say "suicide" to you??? You sound and act like a total misogynist looking for reasons to talk bad about women. Why don't you just read the FACTS---the police do not KNOW, & have not said she committed suicide. I think you are also a cyber bully in calling her names.
Wow, it's Christmastime and you are acting like Scrooge himself.
It must be nice to be PERFECT like you are! You pick on, or bully, many posters. I am sure you are getting some big kick out of this. Someday you will have to account for your actions, just as I will.
God didn't die and leave you in charge. It's also a sign of your immaturity that you curse & think this makes you look intelligent when the opposite is true. AS Logic Al said, people like you are what's so wrong with this world. I suggest you wait for the autopsy results to come back instead of immediately blaming this poor woman for what has happened. I really do not understand your hatred towards this woman when there is NO proof she committed suicide
Big Deal - People like you are what's wrong with this world. Too serious, no sense of humor and quite frankly making a big deal out of something so minor. (The call not the suicide)
Clearly the concepts of loyalty, honor, good taste and treating others as you would be treated are lost in today's society. The majority of posters just can't conceive of how it would actually matter if they did something that harmed those they had pledged loyal to. They defend the DJs because they 'violated no law' as if just passing a law allowing something makes it OK. I think the NAZIs had laws that allowed killing Jews , didn't they?. Causing harm to others through your careless actions certainly violates everything I have ever been taught about personal ethics. These DJs and the station owner shouldn't have to be punished by society, if they had any morality , they would punish themselves. People today take the position that if its not against the law, its OK, but if something is against the law that they want to do, they do it and then say laws are 'antiquated'. Just reading these comments makes me ashamed to be part of this society.
You schmuck, comparing Nazi Germany killing millions of Jews to a weak minded broad for taking her own life due to a tasteless joke? STFU
My point, you ignorant buffon, was that laws do not equal morality. This concept is clearly too far over your head. Your morality is determined by what you are told by the talking heads on TV. I would wager that if your daughter was publicly humiliated by some adolescent prank, your hard-hearted laughter wouldn't be quite so loud.
I particularly like how the station boss, while not explicitly puttting the blame for the nurse killing herself on herself, is still quick to look all put out and to make sure to say how the outcome of the media's grossly irresponsible behavior (like where haven't we seen this crap before), and the results of unconscionable conduct (though totally predictable by current media standards), can only be seen by the media bosses as "unforseen." This is just the same media saying how they never got a chance to kill Diana Spencer enough, and want another go at wiping out anybody in, and associated with the royals. If this is all the "decency and restraint" we can expect to be extended to the royals by the media, then good help all of the rest of us -- you know the "little people," the "small people," the "nobodies." It's time to declare war on the media, the paparazzi, all of it. time to bring this element of thugism and goonism in so-called polite society to heel. If the people are being told what their place is then the same needs to done to the tellers, the media.
The fact this poor woman felt compelled to fall on her sword over some imagined slight to a pack of moochers is disturbing. At last Middleton is an outcross from the middle aged gene pool that is the monarchy.
I think they should be held accountable for their actions. This type of "joke" really isn't funny because of just this sort of potential consequences. I was listening to something similar on a radio station a short time ago and the DJ's had called an elderly man pretending to be security at a grocery store. They told him they had observed him eating produce as he walked around the store on numerous occasions and were thinking of filing charges for shop lifting. (The man's granddaughter had given them information that he did this while shopping.) They kept harassing him until it was really uncomfortable to listen to. This was an elderly man who could have had a heart attack or a stroke because of this "joke". Please engage your brains before acting.
Your indictment is broader than that. Consider the slack-jawed, drooling (probably right wing) audience the DJ's are pandering to (yeah, I know preposition)
Lol! Why is everybody jumping to the conclusion that this nurse killed herself as a result of the prank? Who would do that? It would honestly make more sense for her death to be completely unrelated to the prank and just a tragic coincidence.
Who would do that? A person with undisclosed mental instability pushed over the brink by a creepy allegiance to the royal family. That's who.
I honestly don't think it was a 'creepy allegiance to the royals'. She might have considered it a personal disgrace. In her mind she failed at what has to be one of the most important jobs in the world - nursing.
I still hold with the creepy allegiance. I used to work for a company based in London and it always amazed me to see that most of the people I encountered thought it was okay to fund the monarchy even though it has vast wealth. The same holds true for the papacy and the Vatican. Vast wealth earned by plundering indigenous peoples who are still downtrodden and yet profess belief in the infallibly of a guy in a party hat. The same argument holds true for trailer park types in Georgia who steadfastly vote Republican.
Why's everybody calling for the hanging of these radio DJs? At least they have JOBS and are productive members of society. The royal family is a bunch of FREELOADERS and are viewed by the rest of the world as a joke, as demonstrated by these two DJs.
Now we're getting down to it. Monarchy bashing. Unfortunately there is a sizable segment of the world that sees them as the BBC's version of Jersey Shore.
Australian radio personality, Mel Greig...she is hot!!
Yes she is indeed.
Well, i was just going to say....oh never mind. I think I will wait until the facts come out.