Why such controversy over prank?

[Aractus]

In the 90's a reporter for ACA secretly filmed an electrical repair guy as he "ripped off" consumers. The story went to air, and he killed himself in shame. What he did was not illegal, FYI, he simply charged more for his services than would be competitive, but there's no law against that. Despite this, the reporter went on to have a successful career in this industry. After all, it was her job to be a bitch.

Two Australian radio announcers (Mel and Michael) recently did a prank phone call to King Edward VII Hospital. If you've heard it is is kind of funny, despite being bad taste. But that's all it is - a prank call - where they impersonated (badly) the queen and prince phillip.

Now there is widespread hate and anger at the radio announcers - who were just doing their job. If anyone should be to blame, shouldn't it be their boss and not them? Since when do you blame the shitkicker for the company's problems???

The announcers have been immediately suspended from their jobs! Not following the prank call, no, following the suicide of the nurse. The company was happy with what they did up until the point that someone kills themselves, and then at that point blames the announcers? I can only hope I've read this wrong, and their suspension is for their own wellbeing and not reflective of the company wanting to sack them.

[Gooders1002]

link?

[Waratah]

link?

Here's a link about the story

[festive1]

Call me crazy, and I may be going out on a limb here, but the nurse committing suicide might have a wee something to do with why the radio DJ's have been taken off the air...
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/08/world/euro...?hpt=hp_t3
Pranks=funny, cool, amusing... I'm not sure what you call it when your prank leads to someone killing themselves... Irresponsible?

[Gooders1002]

After reading, it is disgusting I think everybody who thought it was a good idea (i.e. Managers that gave the go head e.t.c.) should be sacked and the DJ's at very least fined a significant amount of money

[Waratah]

It's what happened afterwards that is the problem. Pranks are funny until they backfire. Someone died, who was directly effected by the prank. A bit of compassion for all to do with this story I think is needed. The hospital in my opinion is placing the blame on the radio station for this tragic event so as to deflect some of their own responsibility to there employee/s.

[Shell B]

Are we serious in here? Blaming a couple of pranksters for someone's mental illness is a little extreme. Radio shows do this kind of stuff all the time without any issue. No one says they are being awful. They do it to an obviously mentally ill woman and they are all of a sudden social pariahs? Come on. A healthy person does not kill themselves over something like that. It's a damn shame, but there is no reason to make more victims out of it.

[festive1]

I don't know what the laws are in Britain, but here in the US the nurse who put through that phone call would, at the very least, be fired, and possibly subject of various lawsuits for breaching patient confidentiality laws. If your job is all you got... Well, that's why some people kill themselves.

[Annik]

The woman who killed herself was just someone who answered the phone and passed it off (the media is confusing that fact). I have a feeling the radio show was only one of many things that weighed in on her unfortunate decision.

[Shell B]

I don't know what the laws are in Britain, but here in the US the nurse who put through that phone call would, at the very least, be fired, and possibly subject of various lawsuits for breaching patient confidentiality laws. If your job is all you got... Well, that's why some people kill themselves.

Does that make it the pranksters fault? Yes, it makes it less funny now that something horrible has come of it, but the intent was not what occurred and could not have reasonably been foreseen. I find it very unfair the way they are being treated for doing a job that thousands of people do all the time without this sort of recourse. The poor woman killed herself. I think we can all agree that it was disproportionate to the circumstances. Furthermore, no one has reported that she was in any trouble. All I have heard is that it was reported, so she was likely embarrassed. Annik is also right. She didn't give away any information. The only thing she did was patch the call.