What is the deal with DJ thing?

[GinaPagnato]

This whole UK DJ thing is so puzzling to me. Yes, it was a juvenile prank. Yes, it was obnoxious. Yes, they got lucky to get passed through to the nurse. Yes, they got some health info on Kate (albeit generic).

 

The nurse takes her life. So tragic and horrifying for her family and friends.

 

But...how is it that the DJs are being blamed for her death? This makes no sense to me. They didn't cause her death. If a boy asks a girl out and she refuses him, then he kills himself, is his death the girl's responsibility? Suicide comes as a result of many factors, so I have a hard time believing that this woman was happy and healthy, but killed herself over this mistake.

 

People are tripping over themselves to say how awful the DJs' behavior was. But do people really blame them for this woman's death?

[Guest]

I feel similarly. I do think the DJs should not have done that, but in general, I don't like "shock jock" antics anyway. It is not the fault of the djs, although they can't very well go on a talk show and appear unbothered that the nurse killed herself.

[TravelingChris]

I agree. They are not responsible for her death. The woman must have had major psych problems to kill herself when she has young children. Depression is one of the disease with a high fatality rate. How about a discussion about that, rather than blaming some dumb djs in Australia.

[Kirch]

I agree with you, but people in general are rarely logical when it comes to tragedy. The #1 item on many people's agenda becomes figuring out who to blame.

[Melissa in Australia]

I am in Australia. not only are the DJ's being blamed, but the further up the chain as well. There has been a temporary halt of all advertising to that particular radio station. and their stocks are plummeting.

[sewingmama]

The DJ's gave their first interview on a current affiars show last night - they both cried through the whole thing. They are both devastated and both have said they don't even care about their careers or if they are fired - they just want the victims family to be alright and have said they are willing to face and talk to the family if that is what they want.

 

I don't blame the DJ's at all - as they said - they make the pre-recorded calls and then it is passed onto higher management who make the decision if it should be aired or not. They have no sa in what is aired and what isn't.

 

I feel so bad for them - they will have this hanging over them for the rest of their lives. I keep hoping that when they do her autopsy that they find she died of a heart attack or something medical.

 

I also agree that normal, mentally healthy people don't just go and kill themselves on a spur moment like that. Certainly something like that would not be enough to make me hurt my kids and family in that way. I would rather endure the persecution and loose my career then destroy my family's life. There had to be something more that was going on - the call was probably just the "straw that broke the camels back".

[Anne in CA]

I am glad that the radio station is suffering some financial accountability because hopefully they will think twice before publicly humiliating someone again. The exact problem is that you don't know who you are messing with when you do something like that and you may do more damage than intended. They knew she would probably get fired when they aired it, but they did it anyway, so I have little sympathy for them. Do I think it is all their fault? No. Do I think what they did was wrong, yes.

[Elizabeth in MN]

I've been following this very closely, and the DJs are far from being saints. One time they decided to take a teen girl and attach her to a lie detector and ask her questions while her mom was present. It came out that the girl had been raped when she was twelve. Another time they ran a contest where in they offered homeless people things that they really needed but allowed the audience to call in an deny the homeless person the prize. YET ANOTHER TIME they thought it would be a great prank to have one sister call another sister and convince her that their mother had a horrible accident and needed medical attention. Needless to say, the sister with a brain called the paramedics.

 

The reason the radio station is not airing ads? Because the advertisers are running away from the company.

[Laurie4b]

In cultures where shame is very strong (I do not know for sure that India is one, but that is where the nurse is from), shaming can be enough in and of itself make a normally mentally healthy person take his/.her life. In some cultures, it's almost required in certain shaming situations.

 

Could the young mother also have been on the edge anyway? Of course. But she didn't deserve to get pushed over the edge either. I am surprised by people saying, "Well, she must have had mental problems anyway." What if it were your daughter? Or your mother? What if you'd seen her struggling, were helping all you could and then somebody pulled a stunt like this that put her over the edge?

 

As for the DJs... I am glad to hear that they are remorseful and I hope that they find forgiveness.

 

Prince Williams mother's death was contributed to in part by press intrusiveness into her every move. Now another woman is dead as a consequence of the media trying to poke their nose into the hospital setting where his wife is very sick so they could get some kind of inside scoop to titillate their listeners. The vacation invasion of privacy was bad enough. Can't you be allowed some privacy when you are pregnant and throwing your guts up? That is the kind of thing that just shouldn't happen. It's wrong.

 

When you do something that you consider "a little" morally wrong, it can often have effects that you would never have chosen. I would guess the DJs felt a bit "naughty" making their prank call. It was intrusive. It was a violation of privacy. They never anticipated that it would lead to death, though they could have anticipated that it could possibly lead to people losing their jobs.

 

There are other things in life like that: Lots of people speed up to a certain point. if I am speeding, maybe only 10 miles over the speed limit, that little bit of extra speed could contribute to an accident in which something awful happens. If I am having a good time with my friends and drink a little too much, again, awful things can happen that I never intended.When you do something illegal and someone dies as a result, even if it's not something you could reasonably anticipate, you get charged. If that is the case legally, why doesn't it make sense for a moral infraction? If someone does something morally wrong. and if something happens as a result even beyond what they might have reasonably anticipated, does it not follow that they might also face stronger community sanctions?

 

The DJs did do something morally wrong, imo, though I don't think they could have reasonably anticipated death. But they could have anticipated hurting people: the Duchess, the Prince, and any hospital staff who fell for it who might have been disciplined or fired for their bit of "fun." They were willing to do that. So yes, their actions contributed to the death of a young mother and probably raised a very dark cloud for William and his wife as well, especially given what happened to Diana.Like I said above, I'm glad they are remorseful and I genuinely do hope they find the release of forgiveness.

 

But I also think it's time for the media to take a look at itself and what it contributes to our world. It's pretty ugly at times. All for fame and a buck for the media, and titillation for the public who follow it. Maybe a lot of people will rethink standards.

[Lucy in Australia]

I'm in Australia too, and the thing that bugged me from the beginning (before the nurse died) is that the line between a funny & harmless prank and one that can cause genuine embarrassment, shame or hurt is both being blurred and moved. Somebody on some media here asked, "Where were the adults when this prank was carried out?", and I think that 's the feeling among a lot of people here. These idiots (I don't use the term lightly) are given the green light to do the stupidest things. If they get away with it, they are everyone's favourite person. If it goes bad (as it is more & more likely to) they are shamed & pushed to front the lynch mob. I don't know if it's a "Gen Y" thing or what, but it's getting ugly.

[dtsmamtj]

I am glad that the radio station is suffering some financial accountability because hopefully they will think twice before publicly humiliating someone again. The exact problem is that you don't know who you are messing with when you do something like that and you may do more damage than intended. They knew she would probably get fired when they aired it, but they did it anyway, so I have little sympathy for them. Do I think it is all their fault? No. Do I think what they did was wrong, yes.

:iagree: This is what they get for lying.

[sewingmama]

One time they decided to take a teen girl and attach her to a lie detector and ask her questions while her mom was present. It came out that the girl had been raped when she was twelve.

.

 

That was an entirely different set of DJ's - not the ones who made the prank call - which just proves the point that it is the idiots who are the station management who are to blame moreso then the DJ's themselves. The management comes up with the ideas and the management discusses the legals and decides if something should be aired.

 

The station has announced it will no longer do prank calls and that they have cancelled their Christmas party out of respect for the family.

 

It's just a big old ugly mess that the DJ's are taking the brunt of blame for because "the management" are faceless people. It's easier to blame those we can see and in the public eye.

 

 

The latest news -sounds like they are arranging a payout.... cough, cough .... " memorial donation" for the family.

 

 

ADVERTISING will resume on 2Day FM on Thursday and all profits until the end of the year will be donated to a fund for the family of deceased nurse Jacintha Saldanha.

A minimum contribution of $500,000 will be made to an appropriate memorial fund which will directly benefit the family of the nurse, who is suspected of taking her own life after last week connecting the Sydney radio station's call to another nurse caring for Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Chief executive Rhys Holleran said: "We are very sorry for what has happened. It is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts continue to be with the family.

 

"We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time.

[lailasmum]

In cultures where shame is very strong (I do not know for sure that India is one, but that is where the nurse is from), shaming can be enough in and of itself make a normally mentally healthy person take his/.her life. In some cultures, it's almost required in certain shaming situations.

 

Could the young mother also have been on the edge anyway? Of course. But she didn't deserve to get pushed over the edge either. I am surprised by people saying, "Well, she must have had mental problems anyway." What if it were your daughter? Or your mother? What if you'd seen her struggling, were helping all you could and then somebody pulled a stunt like this that put her over the edge?

 

As for the DJs... I am glad to hear that they are remorseful and I hope that they find forgiveness.

 

Prince Williams mother's death was contributed to in part by press intrusiveness into her every move. Now another woman is dead as a consequence of the media trying to poke their nose into the hospital setting where his wife is very sick so they could get some kind of inside scoop to titillate their listeners. The vacation invasion of privacy was bad enough. Can't you be allowed some privacy when you are pregnant and throwing your guts up? That is the kind of thing that just shouldn't happen. It's wrong.

 

When you do something that you consider "a little" morally wrong, it can often have effects that you would never have chosen. I would guess the DJs felt a bit "naughty" making their prank call. It was intrusive. It was a violation of privacy. They never anticipated that it would lead to death, though they could have anticipated that it could possibly lead to people losing their jobs.

 

There are other things in life like that: Lots of people speed up to a certain point. if I am speeding, maybe only 10 miles over the speed limit, that little bit of extra speed could contribute to an accident in which something awful happens. If I am having a good time with my friends and drink a little too much, again, awful things can happen that I never intended.When you do something illegal and someone dies as a result, even if it's not something you could reasonably anticipate, you get charged. If that is the case legally, why doesn't it make sense for a moral infraction? If someone does something morally wrong. and if something happens as a result even beyond what they might have reasonably anticipated, does it not follow that they might also face stronger community sanctions?

 

The DJs did do something morally wrong, imo, though I don't think they could have reasonably anticipated death. But they could have anticipated hurting people: the Duchess, the Prince, and any hospital staff who fell for it who might have been disciplined or fired for their bit of "fun." They were willing to do that. So yes, their actions contributed to the death of a young mother and probably raised a very dark cloud for William and his wife as well, especially given what happened to Diana.Like I said above, I'm glad they are remorseful and I genuinely do hope they find the release of forgiveness.

 

But I also think it's time for the media to take a look at itself and what it contributes to our world. It's pretty ugly at times. All for fame and a buck for the media, and titillation for the public who follow it. Maybe a lot of people will rethink standards.

 

:iagree: So much of popular entertainment is based on humiliating people for others amusement. One persons bit of fun can tip another person over the edge, it's another piece of shame they have to hang on to and in many cultures shame is enough to warrant death or extreme consequences. I really hope these talentless nobodies are not allowed back on the air and that the radio station permanently changes their ways including removing anyone who approved the stunt. For an adult to really think prank calls are ok is just ridiculous. There is so much reality tv & radio nonsense that only survives because people put up with the humiliation of others as entertainment. In any other environment it would be bullying and we know how often bullying leads to the death of the bullied individual.

[Trish]

This whole UK DJ thing is so puzzling to me. Yes, it was a juvenile prank. Yes, it was obnoxious. Yes, they got lucky to get passed through to the nurse. Yes, they got some health info on Kate (albeit generic).

 

The nurse takes her life. So tragic and horrifying for her family and friends.

 

But...how is it that the DJs are being blamed for her death? This makes no sense to me. They didn't cause her death. If a boy asks a girl out and she refuses him, then he kills himself, is his death the girl's responsibility? Suicide comes as a result of many factors, so I have a hard time believing that this woman was happy and healthy, but killed herself over this mistake.

 

People are tripping over themselves to say how awful the DJs' behavior was. But do people really blame them for this woman's death?

 

Perhaps she was unfairly blamed for giving out information.

 

Now, they are being unfairly blamed for causing her death.

 

Hmm. Well at least they can empathize a little with how she must have felt?

[Jenny in Florida]

I am glad that the radio station is suffering some financial accountability because hopefully they will think twice before publicly humiliating someone again. The exact problem is that you don't know who you are messing with when you do something like that and you may do more damage than intended. They knew she would probably get fired when they aired it, but they did it anyway, so I have little sympathy for them. Do I think it is all their fault? No. Do I think what they did was wrong, yes.

 

I don't feel as strongly as you do, Anne, but I'm on the same page in general.

 

I never care for these kinds of pranks, because the humor arises out of the humiliation or embarassment of another person. I never did prank calls as a kid, and I was terribly upset by the few I received. This kind of "humor" works only because it hurts someone else. And sometimes, it hurts someone who isn't strong enough to laugh it off.

 

So, while I don't think it's reasonable to say they could have anticipated the tragic outcome, their actions did set in motion a series of events that ended with someone so devastated by her part in this "prank" that she died. Of course it's not their fault, but they did take a completely unnecessary risk playing with the emotions of other human beings for the sake of some juvenile entertainment.

 

I don't want to see them fired or see the radio station driven out of business, but I do hope this story makes a lasting impression on the people directly involved and on others who would be tempted to follow in their footsteps.

[Word Nerd]

I've been following this very closely, and the DJs are far from being saints.

 

So if I say I do not think the DJs are responsible for her death, it means I think they're saints?