The DJ Prank Call

Zambia

Hi

For those of you living under a rock

http://www.theage.com.au/world/nurse-at-kates-hospital-who-took-prank-call-from-australian-djs-found-dead-20121208-2b1u2.html?skin=text-only

I really cant see how the tirade of abuse and death threats against these 2 DJ's is justified,

These pranks are done by stations every day both here and at home. While its in bad taste to impersonate the relative of a person in hospital.

21,000 hate messages on the twitter/facebook accounts is ridiculous. Those messages are far more insensitive than the DJ's actions.

People sadden me sometimes.

Anyone think the DJs should be punished?

annettea

no they shouldnt be.. Its making me real angry that theyre been blamed for someone elses actions

Xavi6

Nope they shouldn't. Even if they came up with the idea, the station managers, producers and lawyers all gave it the go ahead.

I didn't find it funny in the slightest but humour is subjective. If the lady hadn't taken her own life would any of those messages have been sent? Of course not.

Unfortunate the way things went but 999 times out of 1000 there's never any fallout so unless you want to ban jokes...

cmac2009

I think this reponse on another thread sums up my feelings on it

Originally Posted by IzzyWizzy
I would be quite happy for ridiculous pranks like these to be banned. They're not funny in the slightest and most of the time, they do seem to cause considerable hurt and upset to the victim. It's a form of bullying, IMO. A cheap laugh at the expense of some unfortunate person just trying to get on with their day. What on earth is funny about contacting a hospital, where medical staff are busy attending to sick people, to get information on a patient? Where's the joke there? Not to mention the fact any idiot could surely foresee consequences for the hospital staff. How self-absorbed and moronic do you need to be to go ahead and air a prank call which at the very least would have caused someone to lose their job?

I think the staff at the station who gave this the go-ahead absolutely need to take some responsibility for what happened and get it into their thick heads what most of us learn in primary school - actions have consequences. What might be a little laugh to you might ruin someone else's life. I have as good as sense of humour as anyone's, but does nobody have any empathy or compassion anymore? Or any concept of boundaries?

Condatis

It was a good prank and seen widely seen as such.

The pranksters can not be held responsible for the outcome.

statina

I listened to it at the time, didn't think it was funny in the slightest. I don't blame the presenters, it seemed like they couldnt believe they got as far as they got. I think the responsibility lies with the station managers and lawyers who gave the go ahead for it to be aired without seeking permission from the nurses in question. Surely they broke a few laws there??

Clearly the radio station wasnt to know that the nurse would commit suicide, however they didn't seem to care of the consequences for her or the other nurse who gave out the personal information. I know the hospital have come out and said they weren't disiciplined but I'm not so sure this would have been the case in a couple of weeks when the dust settled.

The reaction to the presenters is way over the top, some of the comments on the 2day fm website are disgusting. Online bullying at its worst. Feel sorry for the presenters, I imagine they're wishing they could turn the clock back.

Peanut

It's ridiculous. The people who should be held to account are the UK media for reporting the initial hoax call as some sort of high treason, and the hospital management for not having procedures in place that would have prevented the staff member from taking the call.

That a person felt under so much pressure as to kill themselves simply for unwittingly relaying information to an unverified source is the real shame here, and that pressure comes primarily from the creation of media sensationalism.

Gingernuts31

Condatis wrote: »

It was a good prank and seen widely seen as such.

The pranksters can not be held responsible for the outcome.

The call was stupid. Of all the places to call they call the hospital where as already mentioned the staff are busy dealing with sick people. They didn't need these DJ's calling pretending to be somebodies they weren't. Some prank calls are good but not 1s made to hospital to impersonate people who are widely regarded as an important people.

jackbhoy

Being a smug, obnoxious, unfunny d1ck is annoying but it is not a crime.

I have never listened to any of them but I'd rather see them go off the air because the general public have developed the sense to listen to something of substance (what are the chances, eh?) rather than be forced off because a stupid prank happened to involve a poor woman who obviously had existing mental health problems. There is no way any reasonable person could forsee a prank like this leading to someone's death ffs.

The sanctimonious, holier-than-thou bile being spouted on Twitter is sickening tbh and is typical of the mob mentality on there, where rushing to instant judgement and comment is valued over considered opinion.

MrCreosote

A lot of the reaction is way OTT but I think the radio staion (presenters, legal team and producers) were totally in the wrong.

No consent obtained. Total disregard for the very likely possibility the nurses could lose their jobs. Boasting about it afterwards and putting it on repeat play. It's not like a prank call that got out of hand- they had many many opportunities to prevent it getting to air. Their response since the death has been pathetic as well

Typical rubbish you'd expect from Aussie radio stations, although I'm sure they didn't expect the ultimate outcome.

Best result would be advertisers to pull funding from the station.

rightyabe

MrCreosote wrote: »

A lot of the reaction is way OTT but I think the radio staion (presenters, legal team and producers) were totally in the wrong.

No consent obtained. Total disregard for the very likely possibility the nurses could lose their jobs. Boasting about it afterwards and putting it on repeat play. It's not like a prank call that got out of hand- they had many many opportunities to prevent it getting to air. Their response since the death has been pathetic as well

Typical rubbish you'd expect from Aussie radio stations, although I'm sure they didn't expect the ultimate outcome.

Best result would be advertisers to pull funding from the station.

I don't think you need consent for radio pranks etc, as your face isn't shown, could be wrong.

Zambia

Correct me if I am wrong but all she did was put the call through.

She was not the one giving out information

rightyabe

Zambia wrote: »

Correct me if I am wrong but all she did was put the call through.

She was not the one giving out information

Yep she only answered it and passed in on to somebody else who spilled the beans.

catbear

I like a good prank, I've pulled a few good ones but I always knew my target, place, time, and how far I could take it.

Now if I was working in healthcare why should I expect to be pranked everytime I answer the phone? Should I laugh if the emergency call is only a joke. Ultimately it's about wasted resources that could make a difference for someone who actually unwell.

Now I didn't give a crap about the prank, it sounded crass and silly but the defense of it does make me cringe. We don't know the state of mind of the lady who killed herself and as others pointed out she only passed on the call but in light of this the way they're dealing with it is as tactless as the prank itself.

It wasn't even funny to begin with!!!!!!!!!!

It just seems like silly people try to justify silly prank.

token101

It's fairly disgusting that the bottom feeders who work for the tabloids are leading the pitchfork charge when they had far more to do with the lady's death than these two DJs did. Just as one example, take one look at that Daily Mail ****wit Dan Wootton's Twitter account from around the announcement. He was just loving it, loving adding fuel to the fire in between his banal **** talk about Louis Walsh. The likes of him are far more sickening, and culpable, in my opinion.

The Aussie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
And they won't be happy until they drive someone else to the brink either.
I've never gotten prank calls, I remember 96fm brining out a best of CD before each Christmas ther a few years in a row, they have done loads over the years, I did not get it, different humour I guess.
I don't get the TV version on RTE either, flicked over it a few times, a shake of the head and a press of a button and see what else is on.

seachto7

If it were another "celebrity" instead of the royals, would it have been the same outcome?

Doc

And if one of the DJ's kill themselves because of this who will we move on to blame next?

cmac2009

What does it matter who the "celebrity" is or isn't. They shouldn't be contacting the hospital as a prank in the first place. Wasting the nurses time and releasing the private details of a patient to the world.

Doc

No they shouldn't but the overreaction to what they actually did is unreal. I seriously doubt that the woman who died killed herself because of the prank call itself it was the over reaction of the media to her putting the call through that did it not the silly prank call itself. It was no big deal if she hadn't killed herself no one would have any problem with the DJ's.

nucker

Zambia wrote: »

Hi

For those of you living under a rock

http://www.theage.com.au/world/nurse-at-kates-hospital-who-took-prank-call-from-australian-djs-found-dead-20121208-2b1u2.html?skin=text-only

I really cant see how the tirade of abuse and death threats against these 2 DJ's is justified,

These pranks are done by stations every day both here and at home. While its in bad taste to impersonate the relative of a person in hospital.

21,000 hate messages on the twitter/facebook accounts is ridiculous. Those messages are far more insensitive than the DJ's actions.

People sadden me sometimes.

Anyone think the DJs should be punished?

No, because they DJs just thought it was a harmless prank, it was a case of they might not of got through, hence it would of been not heard of.

Unfortunately, the nurse in question did take the phone call, they didn't know that this would be the outcome, the nurse is only human, though I think the hospital should of clarified to the nurse that she wasn't going to be sacked or wasn't in serious trouble.

Its unfortunate that the press in the UK deem this as the reason to go muckraking. Fair enough the radio station do have a shady past in that they forced two victims of rape to confess on the radio station, but that isn't the excuse for the UK press to go out on their high moral horse

T-K-O

nucker wrote: »

No, because they DJs just thought it was a harmless prank, it was a case of they might not of got through, hence it would of been not heard of.

Unfortunately, the nurse in question did take the phone call, they didn't know that this would be the outcome, the nurse is only human, though I think the hospital should of clarified to the nurse that she wasn't going to be sacked or wasn't in serious trouble.

Its unfortunate that the press in the UK deem this as the reason to go muckraking. Fair enough the radio station do have a shady past in that they forced two victims of rape to confess on the radio station, but that isn't the excuse for the UK press to go out on their high moral horse

Actually if that is true the station in question needs to be punishment. It would appear they have a history.

Obviously the presenters cannot be held to account for the nurse however if there is a culture of 'anything goes' at the station that needs to change.

Edit, I totally agree with you on the Hospital. That is the first thing I thought about, was the nurse under a lot of pressure, was she reassured that her job was safe etc

nucker

T-K-O wrote: »

Actually if that is true the station in question needs to be punishment. It would appear they have a history.

Obviously the presenters cannot be held to account for the nurse however if there is a culture of 'anything goes' at the station that needs to change.

Edit, I totally agree with you on the Hospital. That is the first thing I thought about, was the nurse under a lot of pressure, was she reassured that her job was safe etc

Correct, but that doesn't excuse the press jumping on their high horses about morality, though the newspaper in question hasn't had any reported scandals regarding the Leveson enquiry into press standards, that doesn't mean they are clean from any wrong doing

T-K-O

nucker wrote: »

Correct, but that doesn't excuse the press jumping on their high horses about morality, though the newspaper in question hasn't had any reported scandals regarding the Leveson enquiry into press standards, that doesn't mean they are clean from any wrong doing

The press and specifically the UK press are a disgrace. I haven't read any specific articles but Im sure they are from the usual suspects

roughneck

Broadcasters have done this prank since the early days ,im sorry to be blunt but not many people have made their decision to end their own lives , if that was the case then everybody who was in a newspaper , radio show , or a t,v show i.e beadles about ,gotcha , or candid camera would have dropped like fly/s . if we stop funny making ,where are we then , to be blunt again ,it takes a lot to make a world but it only takes a few to laugh at it ,to make it special .

MrCreosote

rightyabe wrote: »

I don't think you need consent for radio pranks etc, as your face isn't shown, could be wrong.

Consent is needed if it's an Australian number called, apparently since the Rape Lie-detector test from a few years ago (incidentally or not, this was the same radio station). No clear guidelines for overseas numbers.

But here's the thing- the station have said that they tried five times to contact the hospital to clear it with them, and failed to get a response. And then they aired it anyway.

So they knew they should get consent, tried to get it, and when they couldn't-they aired it anyway

MrCreosote

roughneck wrote: »

,it takes a lot to make a world but it only takes a few to laugh at it ,to make it special .

Remind me again what's "special" about making a bullying call to someone trying to work a stressful job, then broadcasting it without their consent, and boasting about it for days after.

catbear

So roughneck, pranks in healthcare are acceptable. Yeah right, go prank your local ward then and see how people with illness and their careers appreciate it.
You'll have had your fun and that's what's important.


A good prankster knows their target and how far they can go, an imbecilic prank like the one we're discussing shows no humorous merit at all.

Zambia

I think the 5 calls may be a bit hard to back up

jank

Aussies generally can give it but cant take it. The gutter press is alive and well here. They may also have broken the law regarding privacy and releasing the taped conversation without prior permission of said individuals.
Regardless of any of this, I would imagine that there was a lot else going on with this nurse to make her do this in the first place.

Hopefully this will hurt the station where it hurts the most, in the pocket. Maybe they need to get some better DJ's than two retards from the burbs.

MrCreosote

Zambia wrote: »

I think the 5 calls may be a bit hard to back up

Really? The radio station said it themselves- reported in most papers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/9733898/Duchess-hoax-call-Radio-station-tried-to-call-hospital-five-times-before-airing-prank-call.html

Zambia

MrCreosote wrote: »

Really? The radio station said it themselves- reported in most papers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/9733898/Duchess-hoax-call-Radio-station-tried-to-call-hospital-five-times-before-airing-prank-call.html

Who did they call ?
Who did they speak to?
What time did they call?

If they knew these facts they would be telling them.

MrCreosote

Zambia wrote: »

Who did they call ?
Who did they speak to?
What time did they call?

If they knew these facts they would be telling them.

You're missing the point. It doesn't matter who they spoke to. What matters is that they knew they should obtain consent to release it, and they tried to do that.

And failing to get it, they went ahead and played the tapes anyway.

The Aussie

I think I know what angle the radio station will take on this (at a guess) they are obliged by law to get permission before airing in either Australia and also Britain, but the loophole they will be aiming for is that there is no law regarding International broadcast in Australia, as in it was only meant for broadcast in the Sydney area, even though they had web cams on them . Only my opinion.

Zambia

MrCreosote wrote: »

You're missing the point. It doesn't matter who they spoke to. What matters is that they knew they should obtain consent to release it, and they tried to do that.

And failing to get it, they went ahead and played the tapes anyway.

If they want to prove that they spoke to someone at the hospital it will matter an awful lot.

I would be of the opinion they did not call anyone to seek approval as no body would have given it. They are now using words like due process and procedure to escape scrutiny. If they followed the rules they would have the employee who made the calls state who they spoke to and when.

dave3004

My housemate works the radio station and the sh!t is crazy. Their servers are down from the volume of responses about it all.

Poor djs. Not their fault at all.

Complete media witchhunt. RIP to the lady

cmac2009

Poor Dj's ! Can't believe people are falling for their little PR stunt interviews they did on those "current affair" shows. They obviously were trained on what to say, wouldn't surprise me if they were given the questions beforehand.

Article in the SMH today shows that they were lying through their teeth. Only reason I'd feel a bit sympathetic towards them is due to them shouldering all the blame, I'm sure there are other senior people involved that are hiding behind these two.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/2day-fm-djs-accused-of-playing-dumb-on-prank-rules-20121212-2b9dk.html

catbear

cmac2009 wrote: »

Only reason I'd feel a bit sympathetic towards them is due to them shouldering all the blame, I'm sure there are other senior people involved that are hiding behind these two.

On the other hand as broadcasters surely they must have been aware of broadcasting standards and practices, after all they are/were broadcasters. Did they as professionals object to the station airing their clip without consent?

MrCreosote

dave3004 wrote: »

Poor djs. Not their fault at all.

Complete media witchhunt.

They're partly to blame. I'd have more sympathy if they hadn't been boasting about it for the few days after it first aired. The whole "We didn't chose the prank or decide to play it" smacks of the just-following-orders defense. And to say they were hoping they would be hung up on- maybe they were expecting to be, but nobody actually believes that they were hoping to be.

And it's not a witchhunt- most of the media reports on TV and newspapers with the exception of the British gutter press are very soft. Protecting their colleagues in the media really. There's another one in the Irish Times today:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2012/1212/1224327770873.html

When I first saw the headline I thought the ritual humiliation referred to the nurse. Silly me...

cmac2009 wrote: »

Only reason I'd feel a bit sympathetic towards them is due to them shouldering all the blame, I'm sure there are other senior people involved that are hiding behind these two.

I agree with this too- the most culpable parties are the producers and lawyers who sat down, listened to the prank and decided to air it after having the time to consider whether it was appropriate or not