Dick Dasterdly

I agree.
The medias obsession with anyone who they consider commands celeb status is very sad.
Likewise there must be a lot of very sad people out there with little or no lives of there own, lapping it all up.

What sickens me most is the difficulty of trying to avoid such crap these days as more and more it takes priority, especially in newsrag headlines and front pages as well as other media fields, over what could be far more informative, interesting and useful news.

If WW3 was expected to start tomorrow, it would likely be considered of very little interest compared to the latest Cheryl Cole gossip or the next Royal arrival.

dunmovin

Cheryl who?

Zen10

Interesting how the reaction in this thread is different to the one in the Australia forum. There it is 100% the fault of the DJs and no one else is to blame at all, whereas here people are prepared to be more objective and blame the press as well as the DJs which I think is more intelligent response. The pressure on that woman when the Daily Mail was writing this sort of stuff must have been tremendous:

"But the Mail understands that William and Kate’s private staff are furious and have expressed ‘deep concern’ that the Duchess’s privacy could be compromised in this way. What worries them most, apparently, is just how easy it was for the DJs to get away with their prank."

Imagine reading that and interpreting it as a criticism of how you handled the call.

dunmovin

Interesting..... are you trying to shift the the blame for this from two publicity seeking leeches to the cesspool that british press has become?

Bottom line is these two "DJ'S" didn't stop to think about the consequences of their actions, didn't take into account what the press jackals would make of it.

Zen10

I don't absolve the DJs of their responsibility for this at all, but I don't think they could reasonably have predicted the insane reaction of the British right-wing press in response to the prank, and it was that reaction that blew this thing sky high and put a lot of pressure on the nurse. All those bastards care about is selling newspapers and they didn't give a thought to how that woman would have felt having her actions questioned so publicly.

I have also read that William Windsor was "livid" when he found out, but did not specify that this rage was aimed at the DJs. Given his attempt to shut down a magazine and turf dozens of people out of their jobs a few weeks ago, I can imagine the reaction of the nurse when she found he was on the war path. I think a lot of people played a part in this not just two dickhead DJs.

Rambling Rose

Absolutely. They don't bother with trained switchboard operators at night (the call took place at 5.30am) they just expect the nurses to do it.

Sunday Times now reporting that there are fears for the ozzie woman who took part in the prank 'as she may harm herself'

All in all a pretty sad state of affairs.

mikelincs

So, how do prank calls keep the people informed, they're just trying to have a laugh at someonelse's expense. The official media was doing a great job keeping the people informed as to what was happening via official press releases.

bobd22

Do not get me wrong I have every sympathy with this poor woman and her family it is a terrible outcome to a prank set up by 2 idiots that saw no further than their own status and gaining cudos as radio presenters, forgetting the fact that they were no doubt risking someone else loosing their job. As has been said the hospital has some responsibility for not paying for a trained receptionist through the "quiet hours".

I do not think though that either William or Kate should be criticised for being angry/furious that these idiot pranksters managed to speak with someone about her condition. Lets face it if it was any of our wives and someone without authority or need managed to gain any information and then broadcast it any way I am sure everyone of us would be furious.

The poor woman was a nurse caught out towards the end of her shift dealing with something she was not used to dealing with. The shame is with the 2 presenters and their radio station who authorised the broadcasting of this drivel. No blame should be put on the Royals in my view this tragic incident as blighted what should be on of the happiest times in their lives.

I understand per the press that the radio station is now saying that they are concerned for the safety of the female presenter as she may self harm? Well 2 things maybe her and her colleague should have thought a little more about the consequences of their actions before humiliating someone in such a way. secondly god forbid another person should loose their live over this prank and how true these concerns are I do not know, however she may now understand a little how the poor nurse was feeling when she took her life. The whole thing is just so very tragic.

Pocaloca

British DJs have often done prank calls in the past, they can be very funny and entertaining. Nobody could have predicted the tragic consequences of this current one.

Noel Edmonds - Haggis shooting prank call

Zen10

+1, and let's not forget the Russell Brand Show which specialised in puerile prank calls such as the Andrew Sachs thing etc. A lot of Australians are getting irked by being given ethics lectures from the British gutter press right now.

jimenato

How odd...

Zen10

What don't you understand?

bobd22

Yes there have been a number of different shows showing prank calls some of which can be amusing. Most of those though to my knowledge admit the fact prior to ending and tended to be on an unrealistic theme (not all). I also agree and have said no one would have expected the tragic outcome? However given that this prank involved the Royal family and a real health matter what could have been foreseen was the serious probable consequences (career wise), for unwitting staff that were duped!

Domino

I never suggested they keep people informed Mike.
There is enough news out there if people actually got off their areses and looked for it - probably more noteworthy.

but, no, its fine to have a joke at someone else's expense, they should have learnt from the Brand/Woss incident that jokes at other people's expense can bounce back on you. You can plan and plan and plan and never see the consequences of your actions, one person dead, one person on suicide watch, probably 2 (or more) people out of media jobs for life, station had all its advertising pulled overnight (IIRC), long term loss of credibility mean the station could be dead itself by Christmas.

This is the sort of thing that will end up in a number of training courses and be the term test for Media Studies undergrads for decades to come.

but its alright to have a joke at someone else's expense.


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scrubbedexpat095

While I'm really sorry that a stupid prank cost the life of someone I do find it strange that nobody has commented on the fact that a nurse in a major hospital was sufficiently of a disturbed mind to kill herself over such a thing.