Jacintha Saldanha, an acting receptionist and nurse at The King Edward VII Hospital who is thought to have patched two 2DayFM DJs, Mel Greig and Michael ‘MC’ Christian, through to Kate Middleton’s private nurse in a prank call gone awry, was found dead earlier this morning after reportedly committing suicide.
Saldanha, a 47 year old mother of two, was found unconscious near the hospital where Kate was receiving treatment for acute morning sickness. Two ambulance crews and a duty officer reportedly tried to revive her before she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death is not being treated as suspicious.
The Today Network and parent company Southern Cross Austereo this morning issued the following statement, which has been duplicated on the network’s Facebook page, where each recent post by the station has received tens of thousands of comments from around the world – you can probably guess what the consensus is amongst them:
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and 2Day FM are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward VII’s Hospital and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family and all that have been affected by this situation around the world.
Chief Executive Officer Rhys Holleran has spoken with the presenters, they are both deeply shocked and at this time we have agreed that they not comment about the circumstances. SCA and the hosts have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy.
Both Greig and Christian have had their accounts on Twitter removed and have come under scrutiny for having used them to further promote their show earlier this week using the hashtag #royalprank. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have issued a statement saying they are “deeply saddened” to learn of Saldanha’s death, and that their prayers and thoughts were with her family, who also issued a statement saying they are mourning the loss “of our beloved Jacintha,” while asking for the media to “respect their privacy at this difficult time.” Prime Minister Gillard has also made a statement, describing the incident as “a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time.”
The initial prank was vetted by Today Network lawyers, the production team and management and the segment was pre-recorded before it was broadcast. What was initially thought to be a questionable yet harmless radio segment has descended into unbelievable tragedy. The Today Network, of course, is no stranger to on-air gaffes, with a marked history including the questioning of a teenage girl who revealed she had been raped while connected to a lie-detector and the backlash that followed when Kyle Sandilands attacked a News Limited journalist, calling her both a “piece of shit” (amongst other things) and threatening to “hunt her down” when she published what he interpreted to be a negative review of his TV show.
This, however, is an event that is entirely unprecedented and for which there is, quite literally, no guidebook or referent in the radio codes of practice.
Where Sandilands each time seems to have escaped unscathed – penalised with a slap on the wrist, a temporary silencing of his microphone with a mute button and both fodder for and a sabbitical in which to write his recently released memoir – Greig and Christian will have to forever live with the knowledge that while they didn’t kill Saldanha, they and the producers, managers and lawyers involved have played a part by association in this horrific sequence of events; events that were made worse by exacerbating factors in both overblown coverage of the story and perhaps factors that already existed in Saldanha’s life that no one could have foreseen nor will ever truly know.
UPDATED: Major advertisers like Coles and Telstra have already begun withdrawing advertising from 2DayFM. In addition to this, Today Network CEO Rhys Holleran ran a press conference telling the media that the company has done nothing illegal. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will also be speaking to Southern Cross Austereo about the incident.
SECOND UPDATE: Southern Cross Austero has suspended all advertising on 2DayFM until at least Monday out of respect to advertisers.
Support and information is available for the distressed or those requiring assistance pertaining to mental health issues online at Lifeline, beyondblue, Reach Out Australia, Headspace and Sane.
You can also phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, beyondblue on 1300 22 4642, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or the Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.
Photo by Leon Neal via AFP/Getty
