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“No. Next?” If only that had been the conversation in the “Hot 30 Countdown” production meeting at Australian radio station 2Day FM.

That’s at the core of the so-called “royal radio prank”. The idea of a prank call to a hospital, no matter how innocent the intent, should have been rejected instantly. Insensitive, a waste of hospital staff’s time and simply not funny. Unfortunately ratings got in the way of ethics, and you know the rest.

I’m out of 2DayFM’s target demographic, but I believe prank calls are the laziest and lowest form of radio “entertainment”. The defence that radio prank calls have been around “forever” is flawed. They may be the staple of many radio shows, though I can’t recall any prank calls made to a hospital where a very sick woman in the early stages of pregnancy is being treated. Comparing this to Candid Camera, Punk’d and so-called “gotcha shows” is wrong — there wasn’t a “gotcha” moment, and those “got” did not give permission for their conversation to be aired.

There is obviously much more to play out, claims and counter claims between 2DayFM’s parent company and the hospital, talk of possible legal action concerning listening and surveillance devices, misleading and deceptive conduct, sharing of confidential information, breach of broadcasting codes — the list goes on.

Some basic questions. Who at 2Day FM approved the call to go to air? Why wasn’t permission sought and given? (The station claims it was sought, the hospital denies this). Why was a nurse answering the phone at a private hospital? Did Jacintha Saldanha receive adequate support from her employer? There are more, but these are the most pressing.

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Why was it only the two of them sent out to tearfully face the music? I assume the program’s Executive Producer, 2DayFM’s Content Director, General Manager and legal team are being interviewed tonight.

Unfortunately they can’t hit rewind and have someone say “no” in that production meeting. Hopefully that word will now be used more often at 2DayFM, but given the station’s dubious history, I won’t be holding my breath.

UPDATE December 12: 2DayFM has announced “advertising profits for the rest of 2012 will be donated to an appropriate fund that will directly benefit the family of Jacintha Saldanha.” A minimum AUD$500,000 will be donated. Cynical media observers are suggesting this is a form of emotional blackmail for advertisers who cancelled to return to the station. 2DayFM also cancelled the Christmas party — an understandable move to attempt to claw back some favourable PR. Hardly surprising, but there were no TV appearances last night by any 2DayFM staff involved in the “prank”.

©Steve Williams 2012