Sunday, December 9, 2012

Kate Prank Radio Station Disciplined Over Rape Show

2Day FM is already serving two five-year licence probations for breaching Australia's Broadcasting Services Act. There was no word on Friday on whether there will be further action after its DJs called up London's King Edward VII hospital pretending to be the Queen enquiring about Kate Middleton's condition.

Jacintha Saldaha, the nurse who believed she was transferring a call from "the Queen" was found dead today several yards from the hospital. The prank was considered deeply embarrassing for the hospital, which said it had been supporting Ms Saldanha during a difficult time.

According to Australian Channel 4, The Sydney-based radio station 2Day FM was continuing to promote its prank Kate call on air on Friday, referring to it as "the prank call the world is talking about".

2Day FM has a history of shock jock prank calls. The Australian Communications and Media Authority imposed a licence condition for five years ordering 2Day FM to provide increased protection for children after a 14-year-old was attached to a lie detector test in 2009 and pressured to discuss her sex life on air.


Despite the girl's protests that she was "scared" and believed the questions were not "fair" the "Kyle & Jackie-O" radio show host encouraged both the girl and her mother to discuss whether she was sexually active, to which the girl responded: "I've already told you the story of this and don't look at me and smile because it's not funny. Oh, okay. I got raped when I was 12 years old."

To which the host replied: "Right. And is that, is that the only experience you've had?"

"Overall, we believe that the child was exploited and treated cruelly by 2Day FM. The broadcast made the exploitation all the more humiliating and public," the Law Society of New South Wales Young Lawyers said in a submission to the Australian Communications and Media Authority in September 2009.

In another incident, the radio station said it had raised $AUS 150,000 for a family who believed they were being awarded the money to help care for their disabled child. When they tried to claim the donations, they were instead given the names of those who'd pledged money.

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