Prank call ends in tragedy

[Bandit72]

Leads to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20645838

Leads to



A real tragic turn of events. Predictably this has turned into a media frenzy and witch hunt for the DJ's involved which is extremely annoying. This has to be a VERY rare case?

[creep]

this is pretty big news over here too. the dj's did nothing wrong but because of the media their lives and careers are ruined now. crazy story.

[Essence_Smith]

I don't know if they didn't do anything wrong...isn't calling and impersonating someone at least a little wrong?
I'm playing devil's advocate, but I hate those prank call stations...although it can be funny and people are just trying to be entertaining clearly these things can result in some very negative things going down...just sayin...

[tvrec]

While I'm not against pranks or this prank in particular, the DJs surely could have handled the situation better so as to buffer, at least a little, the extreme pressure the nurse would have had coming down on her.

[Artemis]

The pranked nurse may not have taken her life specifically over this incident. Perhaps she was already depressed or having suicidal thoughts, and this incident was the green light for her to gothrough with it. I'm sure it was really embarrassing and humiliating when she found out she had been pranked;however, I do not think it's something t o kill yourself over. I know a couple of people who are nurses, and they are tough cookies. I guess no one can predict exactly how another person will react.

It's most unfortuante that she died, but I do not think the DJs should be held responsible for her death. If she hadn't killed herself, would the DJs have been reprimanded in some way? I don't think so.

[Larry B.]

Is it too weird to have doubts over a suicide? I thought the same as Artemis... why would someone kill herself because they were pranked? Even if she was sort of depressive or something, I think it's more likely to end your life because you don't have clean undies than because someone pretended to be the queen and everyone knew about it.

I'm really close to call shenanigans on this thing...

[mockbee]

Agreed the djs are not responsible for the nurse's death.

But, Artemis, would you find that at all amusing to prank an individual at a hospital about their health? I think it is not at all funny and actually a despicable act, but certainly they had no clue it would lead to this and I am sure feel terrible about it.


And the Brits have a peculiar relationship with their queen mum, and I suppose the nurse could have just found it irreconcilable in her mind to have disclosed such a private matter of the royal family to the public.

[creep]

the nurse that was giving out info wasn't the one to kill herself. it was the lady that transferred the call.

if this was paris hilton in the hospital would there be so much outrage?

[mockbee]

I don't understand the outrage. It's just a tragic event. I don't care who it concerns really.

[Bandit72]

Like Larry says, it is all a bit weird. I can understand that she may have been on a huge guilt trip as it was royalty, but to commit suicide? With two children? Dare I say it, so close to Christmas? Even if she thought she was going to lose her job, that's still no reason given her circumstances. But I guess we don't really know what her circumstances were. It's not as if she would have been had for treason or anything. I don't know, maybe the brain suddenly kicks in and goes into some bizarre thought process.

[chaos]

the nurse that was giving out info wasn't the one to kill herself. it was the lady that transferred the call.

Obviously there is much more to her decision to kill herself. Maybe she was harshly reprimanded, and if she was already in a fragile mental state this could have added to it. Then again, the incident may not even be related. It is ridiculous that the DJs are being blamed.

[Bandit72]

the nurse that was giving out info wasn't the one to kill herself. it was the lady that transferred the call.

Obviously there is much more to her decision to kill herself. Maybe she was harshly reprimanded, and if she was already in a fragile mental state this could have added to it. Then again, the incident may not even be related. It is ridiculous that the DJs are being blamed.

Agreed. I'm not sure what it's like in the states, but certain UK stations/DJ's have been renowned for prank calls. A lot of them are very good listening. Two DJ's who used to be on one of my local stations Kerrang used to do something called 'one sided phone calls. They used to record a conversation with gaps, phone someone up and just hit play. Some of the results were incredible.

[Matz]

I'd heard about this story for a couple of days, but didn't really know what it's about until now, pretty wild. I think certain people would kill themselves over something like this, if they're extremely loyal to the place they work and are perfectionists. Also think of the attention she got in a negative way from all over the world. For some, maybe quite a lot of people, that can be overwhelming.

[Artemis]

But, Artemis, would you find that at all amusing to prank an individual at a hospital about their health? I think it is not at all funny and actually a despicable act, but certainly they had no clue it would lead to this and I am sure feel terrible about it.

No, I wouldn't find it amusing at all. An individual's health matters are private.

I don't know if the DJs had to run their idea by a station manager for approval or not, but I would not have approved such a prank if I were in charge.

[creep]

I'd heard about this story for a couple of days, but didn't really know what it's about until now, pretty wild. I think certain people would kill themselves over something like this, if they're extremely loyal to the place they work and are perfectionists. Also think of the attention she got in a negative way from all over the world. For some, maybe quite a lot of people, that can be overwhelming.

nothing should ever make you kill yourself but what happened to her is not that big of a deal. she obviously had issues before the incident.

people have children, spouses or parents die and they make it through without killing themselves. it just bothers me that people are blaming the stupid dj's. if one of the dj's kill themselves over this who are we going to blame then?

[Pandemonium]

It's all bullshit hand wringing by the public via the slow news week media and I have no sympathy for anyone involved.

Going backwards, last night there was this teary-eyed interview/apology with the two DJs where they looked utterly phoney. Despite the radio stations' owner "sticking by his people," they've been thrown under the bus and fired even though this sort of thing has been their bread and butter for years. Now the station is offering a half million payoff to the family to make this go away. Radio really is the gutter of the entertainment industry.

Then there's the nurse who committed suicide (which actually hasn't been proven 100% yet). If she indeed killed herself over her involvement in taking the call, she did so leaving her husband and kids behind.... over being pranked by a phoney (and lamely executed) phone call. Thank God she never mixed up a patients breakfast order or she mighta taken out the entire hospital staff in a fit of remorse.

[Desri]

I don't know if the DJs had to run their idea by a station manager for approval or not, but I would not have approved such a prank if I were in charge.

The prank call was pre-recorded, then supposedly attempts were made by the broadcaster to get consent prior to airing, but when it was airtime and permission had not be gained they okayed the story. At least in Australia as much criticism is being levelled at the broadcaster as the DJs, but the broadcaster is embroiled in stuff like this all the time so I would question how much they care. They have had two similarish controversies like this in the last year. It's not exactly a radio station known for it's quality or high standards.

I agree the DJs seemed incredibly fake in the interview, but they probably have really mixed emotions. I doubt they wanted the side effects of their prank, but they are probably also angry at the media backlash and having a hard time coming across as having compassion. It was probably a mistake to do the interview on their part.

[Matz]

I don't understand why you think they're fake, I thought they came off pretty sincere the both of them and I think it was a good idea of them to do the interview and show they're sorry. I don't know, maybe I'm naive and they were faking it all