Kate and William expecting first child.
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maccascruff:
SurSteven:
My gut feeling is that this woman was suddenly thrust into an overwhelmingly and incredibly embarassing situation. She sounded like she took her work very seriously. It's very sad indeed!
That's my feeling also, but we don't know how the hospital came down on her. I hope those djs never get back on the air. Heard their twitter accounts have been removed.
I would imagine she would have been in trouble for giving out information on a patient, esp. one as famous as Kate. What a dirty trick. So sad she had no one to turn to for relief.
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We may never know what words were exchanged between her employer - the hospital - and her over this. But the Palace spokesmen have been quick to state that they never complained to the hospital or requested any form of counselling/discipline/investigation. Indeed they have gone further to insist they were fully supportive of the hospital after the news of the hoax call broke. I'm sure they know, better than most, how deceitful journalists can be in testing the defences of any group thrown into the spotlight in this manner. The call came in the night here in the UK - at a time when the reception desk at the hospital was closed, During such times call were diverted to a nursing station where less experienced staff - in respect of dealing with probing deceptive calls from the press - received the calls. Jacintha Saldanha was the person that received the call - she passed it along to another nurse in the area Kate was in who then reported on her personal condition to someone she'd been advised was The Queen. The radio station has made a statement confirming the duo responsible will not be hosting the show for the foreseeable future. The pair have had an incredible backlash via their show and personal Twitter accounts and both personal accounts have been rapidly closed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20649816 Australia has an independent Radio Broadcast Standards Authority and the conduct has been referred to them for consideration and possible sanctions on the radio broadcasters and their station. I have always had a deep loathing for any form of calls such as this where the caller misrepresents their intentions for the "entertainment" of their listeners, and I hope this incident will make all radio broadcasters consider their own conduct in future. Martin
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On a lighter note, delighted to see Kate has gone home: Martin
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JennyLP:
This doesn't make any sense to me.....why would a prank phone call cause someone to take their own life? There had to be something deeper than that.....
I tend to agree. Suicide doesn't happen over just one issue. It's a combination of factors, including a person's mental state, ability to handle stress, etc. I think this incident was the proverbial straw that broke her, which is incredibly tragic. I'm hoping that the radio station and the DJ's reach out to the poor woman's family.
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That is rough. I just hope Kate can go through the pregnancy like any other woman would and her husband get up and get her stuff like pickles and ice cream as she gets the urge for love doris
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Aren't there FCC rules that the DJs should have followed? I thought you must tell a person when they are being taped or on a live broadcast. That may be what they will get charged with.
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oobu24:
Aren't there FCC rules that the DJs should have followed? I thought you must tell a person when they are being taped or on a live broadcast. That may be what they will get charged with.
I don't know that that applies in all countries, and I have to wonder if it applies to those sorts of prank calls, as it's pretty common for DJ's and other folks like the Jerky Boys and such to make prank calls and record them. I'm sure they secure a release from the person being pranked (after the fact), but not before.
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martinput:
On a lighter note, delighted to see Kate has gone home: Martin
Yes. And the blue and yellow is nice together. Is it a sign of unity when couples wear matching colors or is that marketing? I'm SORRY. Couldn't resist
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oobu24:
Aren't there FCC rules that the DJs should have followed? I thought you must tell a person when they are being taped or on a live broadcast. That may be what they will get charged with.
One damning aspect of this unfolding is that this was not a spontaneous live event that was simply unwise. The call was pre-recorded before broadcast, passed to the station legal team before transmission and passed for broadcast. So in considering any sanctions, the Australian Broadcast Standards Authority will not accept any station claim that this hoax call was the action of a pair of maverick rogue broadcasters. One phrase being bandied around for the cause of the tragic action taken by Jacintha Saldanha is "gross humiliation" - everything from internal hospital tut-tuts amongst peers and immediate line managers to the international hue and cry arising from the news. Another ugly aspect was the crowing hi-five-ing from the presenters and the station over the hoax with tweets and banner headlines on the station web-site over what an easy hit it was and how gullible the "hospital" - so essentially Jacintha - was in believing their fake royal accents. All that triumphalist media has been cleared from the net now - after the news of the death broke. I return to my point I personally loathe all this type of personal abuse in the name of humour - it overtakes the crass stunt that Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand pulled that led to their fall from grace and loss of BBC contracts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russell_Brand_Show_prank_telephone_calls_row That led to a £150,000 fine by the UK Broadcast Standards Agency OFCOM and I hope similar censure will follow this in Australia. I also sincerely hope that either legal - or preferably voluntary - action ensures a significantly large compensation settlement is made to Jacintha's family. It doesn't matter what the pre-event condition of Jacintha's emotional stability was - as a base reference work as a night nurse is exhausting and tiring, esp when also meeting the demands of a young family, de-facto. The consequences of any hoax call upon the hoaxee is the responsibility of the hoaxer. Claims already heard from the radio station that this outcome "couldn't be foreseen or planned for" do not stand and they must face significant censure for the call in the first place let alone the tragic outcome. I'm pleased to hear that advertisers that supported the radio station are cancelling contracts in droves cutting off the station's commercial life-blood even before the independent review of their conduct. Martin