Beyondblue calls for support for radio hosts

8 Dec 2012, 12:04 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Sydney 2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian have been taken off air. (AAP)

Sydney 2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian have been taken off air. (AAP)

Beyondblue chairman Jeff Kennett has called on Australians to support two radio hosts following the death of a nurse who was duped by their prank call to a London hospital.

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Beyondblue chairman Jeff Kennett has called on Australians to support two radio hosts following the death of a nurse who was duped by their prank call to a London hospital.

Sydney 2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian have been taken off air after the call to London's King Edward VII Hospital was linked to the death of respected nurse and mother Jacintha Saldanha, 46, on Friday.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Ms Saldanha's death and it's believed she took her life.

The hosts had rung pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles inquiring after the health of the Duchess of Cambridge who had been admitted with acute morning sickness.
 
Mr Kennett, the chairman of the national depression initiative beyondblue, said on Saturday he hoped the Australian public would support the two radio hosts involved in the prank.

"When they did this they had no intention to cause harm, it was a harmless prank.

"Now they will be under extraordinary pressure and I just hope that they get our support and that their employer provides them with the professional support to help them get through what will be a terrible few weeks," Mr Kennett told ABC radio.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell told reporters the two radio hosts must be feeling "terrible".

"I don't imagine in any way that those who were engaged in the typical FM radio stunt would have thought it would lead to this.

"I think there are some people today who are suffering, not just the family of the nurse but those who in some way were involved with what appears to be the trigger for this tragedy," Mr O'Farrell said.
  
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

Royals , Hoax

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Disrespect.

Soh - from Melbourne,Eltham, 6 months ago

Sorry is cheap. Some people seem to think that saying sorry solves everything. Some people just do not respect anything these days. They think that everything is fun and game. I can understand how the DJs feel now, but they have to bear the responsibility for their actions. In fact the executives who approve this cheap stunt have to be investigated as well. They even lie through their teeth about contacting the hospital about releasing this material. Who are they trying to fool?

Are we all so innocent?

Vanessa - from Mornington, Melbourne, 6 months ago

Oh come on everyone! So easy to point the finger, especially via social media. So if we re going to take that path, maybe next week we could be pointing the other way if these D.J's buckle under the pressure of all this scrutiny. They are shouldering the blame for someone they don't even know, who took her own life, for reasons we will probably never know. Plenty can be learnt from this, like to always gain people's permission before putting anything to air that may be humilliating.

Prankster are responsible

Sumit - from Melbourne, 6 months ago

These two DJ's are devastated, but not half as bad as Jacintha Saldanha's children, husband and family will be. The DJ's have the wealth of a radio station to support them, but look into their eyes, and then look into the eyes of Jacintha Saldanha children, who has the tears, and who will be crying for the rest of their lives.

Gen Y suckups

MT - from Albury, 6 months ago

No, sorry, I'm sick of people spouting off at the mouth without any knowledge of society's etiquette and rules. This nurse was bound by the rule of confidentiality, but also thought she was talking to her Monarch . Classic dilemma. Should she tell the Queen to mind her own business, or breach confidentiality. Either option was fraught with danger. The end result was a very public humiliation and hospital investigation. Almost guaranteed a bad outcome. 2Day FM hosts stuffed up big time!!!

Typical of 2DAY-FM

Fred - from Sydney, 6 months ago

This radio station employs fools to entertain fools. They keep popping up in the news for crossing the line into idiotic bad taste. This is just another example of the level they operate on. Aren't there laws against "Using a carriage service for the purpose of deception"?

Think before you act

Tom - from Melbourne, 6 months ago

Of course these people didn't mean for a woman to kill herself, but the point is not whether they meant to cause harm or not. The point is that they didn't think about what effect their actions may have. If you're running with scissors, you may not have intended for another person to get stabbed, but they did. And you shouldn't have been running with scissors. I hope the lesson taken from this woman's death is that we all need to be more considerate of our influence over other people.

Thoughtless Prank

John - from Sydney, 6 months ago

An unnecessary ratings seeking prank by an element of the media. Morning sickness is hardly a condition to make light over. This was never going to be a “harmless prank” considering the importance of the individual concerned & the world wide exposure that was likely to occur. If you were in position of trust & care for someone of this importance & were effectively professionally ridiculed worldwide how would you feel?

Radio shame

Stephanie - from Melbourne , 6 months ago

People should realize their actions have consequences. The radio staton has said it was an "unforeseen outcome" but let's face it when does a "prank" turn out well. Worse still they had the option not to broadcast it as it was prerecorded.

Failing to anticipated the consequences of your actions is no defence

Philip - from Canterbury, UK, 6 months ago

The defence from the Australian radio station seems to be that there was no reason to predict this outcome. However what was entirely anticipatable is that a prank involving the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge would quickly go global in a way that would bring an unprecedented level of pressure on the victims of this hoax call. This is what the DJs, their lawyers and the radio station are guilty of failing to understand this and deserve to be punished accordingly.

mr

rick - from hurstville , 6 months ago

what sort of people run this radio station? people from overseas might not know about this station but most australians know what they have done. questions should be ask why the acma did not take their radio license ages ago.

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