Radio Prank & Suicide.
Paul Andrews
Posts: 2,489
About the tragic events after the 2day FM prank call.
Ultimately the race to the bottom from the entire media/entertainment industry is to blame. No particular presenter, DJ, personality, artist is solely responsible – but these latest two halfwits, Jones, Laws, Bolt, Sandilands, Sattler (Aussies) ,Limbargh, Hannity, Beck, UK tabloids, and their ilk are collectively responsible. As are the media barons like Murdoch, the programmers and ‘entertainment industry’. But we as consumers of this crap are also to blame. 'We all killed Diana!'
I shake your head at much of what passes for entertainment/music these days. Where is the real talent? Where is the angst? Where is the integrity? It appears celebrity is often more important than quality. Granted there are some talented singers out there, but how many good looking performers are auto tuned, can’t play an instrument or write a song and will be forgotten tomorrow? But they’re drawing millions of fans and dollars now and that’s what counts. Shit, when I grew up I didn't like ABBA's music - but I respected them - they did have talent. I wouldn't give two drops of dog shit for much of the popular music these days - and that's not just an old fart speaking - plenty of new stuff I love.
Who is watching the reality TV garbage? What is it teaching those people about behaviour, values and ethics? Cheap shit TV based on controversy and conflict that means nothing and leaves us all poorer for its production.
I remember when Current Events News was high level investigative journalism mixed with well produced but sensible fluff pieces. You had guys rallying for the man in the street, but there was hardly the political and nonsensical shit and product plugs you see today.
Old time journalists, comedians, presenters, music producers etc all have the same lament - a total lack of standards - they're totally expendable when a fast buck, ideology or low brow stunt is there to be had. Those of us who care about this are the dinosaurs. The media and much of the entertainment industry don’t want us anymore – we’re too smart, too discerning and don’t fall for their ads, their bullshit or their low brow crap. There are niche markets we now fit into, but we’re last generation.
They’re now targeting those who are plain stupid, naive and inexperienced or young. They have plenty of bucks to spend, are willing to spend it on crap (advertised, endorsed, or placed in these media) and often get their kicks out of putdowns, cheap laughs and disposable music. To them celebrity is king, and they are easily impressed by immature crap. The extremely rich and powerful douchebags controlling this only gain by dumbing down the population and future population.
But this is made scarier by the fact these same douchebags have a political agenda and they know their audience are also open to political suggestion and require little more than a dog whistle to unleash their bigotry, lack of critical thought and are easily scared into doing stupid things.
I love a good political/ethical/philosophical argument with my friends who have a different point of view - they all have evidence to back up their opinions and don't see those who have a different point of view as 'the enemy'. However, look at the combative us and them approach of almost everything in society these days. Any wonder why we have greed to road rage and everything in between.
Sign of the times unfortunately. Hurt and ridicule is profit. Cheap drivel music sells. Political propaganda and bias is power.
Fight back – switch channel, teach your kids what real music and television is, boycott advertisers, bomb their social media pages. I leave you with this song:
The Angels - Stand Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mauCY9JM0J8
Ultimately the race to the bottom from the entire media/entertainment industry is to blame. No particular presenter, DJ, personality, artist is solely responsible – but these latest two halfwits, Jones, Laws, Bolt, Sandilands, Sattler (Aussies) ,Limbargh, Hannity, Beck, UK tabloids, and their ilk are collectively responsible. As are the media barons like Murdoch, the programmers and ‘entertainment industry’. But we as consumers of this crap are also to blame. 'We all killed Diana!'
I shake your head at much of what passes for entertainment/music these days. Where is the real talent? Where is the angst? Where is the integrity? It appears celebrity is often more important than quality. Granted there are some talented singers out there, but how many good looking performers are auto tuned, can’t play an instrument or write a song and will be forgotten tomorrow? But they’re drawing millions of fans and dollars now and that’s what counts. Shit, when I grew up I didn't like ABBA's music - but I respected them - they did have talent. I wouldn't give two drops of dog shit for much of the popular music these days - and that's not just an old fart speaking - plenty of new stuff I love.
Who is watching the reality TV garbage? What is it teaching those people about behaviour, values and ethics? Cheap shit TV based on controversy and conflict that means nothing and leaves us all poorer for its production.
I remember when Current Events News was high level investigative journalism mixed with well produced but sensible fluff pieces. You had guys rallying for the man in the street, but there was hardly the political and nonsensical shit and product plugs you see today.
Old time journalists, comedians, presenters, music producers etc all have the same lament - a total lack of standards - they're totally expendable when a fast buck, ideology or low brow stunt is there to be had. Those of us who care about this are the dinosaurs. The media and much of the entertainment industry don’t want us anymore – we’re too smart, too discerning and don’t fall for their ads, their bullshit or their low brow crap. There are niche markets we now fit into, but we’re last generation.
They’re now targeting those who are plain stupid, naive and inexperienced or young. They have plenty of bucks to spend, are willing to spend it on crap (advertised, endorsed, or placed in these media) and often get their kicks out of putdowns, cheap laughs and disposable music. To them celebrity is king, and they are easily impressed by immature crap. The extremely rich and powerful douchebags controlling this only gain by dumbing down the population and future population.
But this is made scarier by the fact these same douchebags have a political agenda and they know their audience are also open to political suggestion and require little more than a dog whistle to unleash their bigotry, lack of critical thought and are easily scared into doing stupid things.
I love a good political/ethical/philosophical argument with my friends who have a different point of view - they all have evidence to back up their opinions and don't see those who have a different point of view as 'the enemy'. However, look at the combative us and them approach of almost everything in society these days. Any wonder why we have greed to road rage and everything in between.
Sign of the times unfortunately. Hurt and ridicule is profit. Cheap drivel music sells. Political propaganda and bias is power.
Fight back – switch channel, teach your kids what real music and television is, boycott advertisers, bomb their social media pages. I leave you with this song:
The Angels - Stand Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mauCY9JM0J8
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
I agree. There's little truth and conviction in pop music or just about anything these days. Everything is over homogenized. Everything is based too much on the profitability of the product. Everything seems so much more insidious and evil.
There are little standards to speak of anymore.
Just awful what happened in this situation. Really a shitty way to learn a lesson...
6/29/06 - Milwaukee, WI
9/25/11 - Vancouver, BC
11/4/12 - (Eddie Vedder) Phoenix, AZ
11/1/13 - New Orleans, LA
11/19/13 - Phoenix, AZ
11/21/13 - San Diego, CA
10/12/14 - Austin, TX
10/22/14 - Denver, CO
8/22/16 - Chicago, IL (Wrigley 2)
5/9/22 - Glendale, AZ
5/18/24 - Las Vegas, NV
I agree here... But the kind of humiliation and blowback she received because of getting duped isn't anything we'll ever experience in our lives. She was prolly a very fragile person in the first place, yes... But this obviously and tragically broke her.
It's all just a damn shame...
6/29/06 - Milwaukee, WI
9/25/11 - Vancouver, BC
11/4/12 - (Eddie Vedder) Phoenix, AZ
11/1/13 - New Orleans, LA
11/19/13 - Phoenix, AZ
11/21/13 - San Diego, CA
10/12/14 - Austin, TX
10/22/14 - Denver, CO
8/22/16 - Chicago, IL (Wrigley 2)
5/9/22 - Glendale, AZ
5/18/24 - Las Vegas, NV
Nope I don't think she killed herself over a prank, but it seems this was the tipping point. No doubt more facts will emerge as to the final days and hours of this woman's life - and probably more background information than any private individual needs broadcast. But this is the 'risk' of these kinds of public humiliations suffered on regular people - they has no idea who they were targeting or what was going on in their lives. More often than not, in the past, many prank victims were dobbed in by a partner, set up and in some way screened. This was a totally cold call to a place that should have been off limits.
But my point is, these 'harmless' radio pranks are not harmless. They exist from hurt and ridicule and the price is paid by the victim. At best they can only be 'a good sport' and laugh along. But let's look at what these pranks actually are: An invasion into the privacy of someone who has not asked to be spot lighted by the media. These people have no media experience, have no desire for limelight and have no-one advising them how to handle the ensuing situation - be it the woman who blurted out she'd fucked her husband's brother on a radio prank call or a nurse answering a phone in the middle of the night thinking she was talking to the queen.
Radio clowns have no idea about the personal mental state of their target. I do not blame the two presenters for her death, they were just doing what thousands and thousands of radio presenters do every day. Morning Zoo type shows are popular and their modus operandi is similar the world over - but each pushing to be a little edgier than the next. The race to push the boundaries of what is decent and what is not is tested and pushed a little further every hour. Ringing up someone to say a truckload of manure is on its way to their house is one thing, calling a hospital is another - where next, call a funeral parlour and tell the grieving family there had been a mix up in the hospital and their loved one was still alive? No, let's rig the corpse to open the casket. Or here's one, let's ring up a new parent and tell them, their baby is dying and they need to get to the hospital quickly!
But my overall point is the quality of the media and entertainment we now receive. There was a time quality was important, privacy was respected and facts were presented, not opinion presented as fact and not lies presented as fact. That we now have to fact check the media is a disgrace - and I regard both left and right wing bullshit as wrong. The media used to educate, enlighten and present the facts as they are. It used to be a beacon of our society's morals and values. I don't see much of that these days.
Music used to be real. People learning an instrument, finding some friends, playing together, getting better, writing songs about shit that mattered - or was at least clever. Sure there has always been various level of 'production' and promotion, and quality is often in the eye of the beholder, but the product was mostly good or at least worthy of respect, even if your tastes were elsewhere. Look at how hard it is for real bands to break through while some talentless bimbo/himbo lip syncing to Stock Aitken Watermanesque shit sells millions to people who just don't know better. I'm no huge fan of rap, but I admire the artistry, poetry and conviction of believe and protest in it. I can't say I admire much of some of the other over produced rubbish by the latest diva or boy band. Shit, at least Beiber can play and sing - I dislike his music, the team of writers who make it, but at least he has talent and can perform on his own legs.
We have become cogs in a terrible game of manipulation. A dumbed down entertainment industry, partisan news media and monetorisation of everything comes at the loss of freedom, wisdom and integrity.
people WANT to believe this prank wasn't the reason she killed herself ... people WANT to believe this because the same people enjoy these pranks and really don't want to feel part of the guilt ... the truth is i've laughed at stupid pranks on the radio and what not ... but this shit has gone too far ..
no one can judge what level of humiliation this woman felt ... this wasn't a simple prank where everyone got a chuckle ... she was responsible for a major security breach ... it's quite possible that her sense of responsibility and duty to her job was very strong and that this breach was very hard on her ... combine that with worldwide ridicule and you have the recipe for breaking ... there are many people who might have handled this better but that is neither here nor there ... she wasn't ... and it is clear that this prank is directly responsible for her death ...
it's like drunk driving ... people do it every day ... and the majority of them get away with it ... same thing with these kind of prank calls ... if this woman didn't kill herself ... the DJs would still be boasting about it ... the tabloids will write it up and she would be left to suffer the humiliation for the rest of her life ...
as to the OP's point of what passes off as entertainment these days - it is indeed tragic ... but i'm definitely in the minority on this ...
soo ... feel free to want to think that she had mental problems or she was depressed or there was something else ... maybe her family knows ... i sure don't ... all i do know is that she got humiliated by a couple of people by failing in her responsibility all for a laugh ... and i wouldn't wish that on anyone ...
but the cruelty and ensuing consequence has increased 10 fold.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
look at the 80's. that was a shit decade for music. that's the decade that ushered in the garbage you hear on the radio today. that music is now popular again and probably always will be. we just have to accept that.
I don't listen to the radio anymore. it's a different time. It also has to do with the emotional connection you get with the music you grew up with. No matter if it's music of "substance", like Pearl Jam et al, or stuff like Bananarama and Tears for Fears, if that was the music of your formative years, you're going to have a special place for it and everything else pales in comparison, because it has a connection with the experiences in your life of that snapshot in your life. The emotional component of musicality cannot be underscored enough.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
I know that prank calls have been a part of radio for a long time, so there must be an audience for them. The few I heard in my radio listening days offended me--and I have a pretty dark sense of humor. A part of why I stopped listening to morning radio a long time ago.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Agree polaris.
Agreed so much on the music front (well-said, dinosaur!) - it's why I appreciate artists like Tool and Jack White among others - there's a care put into their craft; honesty, no shortcuts. The others I avoid seem like they're trying to pull the wool over their fans' eyes, and are being allowed to - encouraged, even.
Anyway, no matter how you cut it, it's sad this woman reached her tipping point.
I think it is clear that the poor lady was obviously fragile prior to the call. Sure there would be humiliation. Though I assume the poor lady was already in a dark place. A terrible tragedy and this was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak.
Perhaps people who do this sort of thing should pick their 'targets' a little better in future. People just doing their job should not be subjected to this.
Speaking of humiliation, we have a show in Australia called the Footy Show. They did a cross to a pub where there was a man who everyone assumed was drunk. The host of this show said something like 'look at that bloke, he looks like he has had a hundred schooners' or something like that. Turns out the poor chap had Cerebral Palsy and felt humiliated on national TV.
Innocent people becoming the brunt of jokes probably isn't the way to go.
Sydney 14/02/2003
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"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
what this boils down to is adults bullying other adults. it's sick and it needs to stop. not to mention the example it sets for impressionable kids that find it funny.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
i work in healthcare, and aside from committing a tort that leads in serious bodily harm or death, the worst thing you can ever do is divulge information about a patient's health or condition. confidentiality is a huge part of the job, and what this woman did was unknowingly commit a serious offense. i think that she was embarrassed. not only can you get fired for breaking confidentiality protocols, but you will be ostracized by your co-workers for making such a preventable mistake. this poor woman disclosed private health information about the most famous woman on the planet and she was devestated by it. i feel terribly sorry for her, and i am very angry at the djs and management at that radio station for what they did.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
So can we conclude she was reprimanded? made to feel personally responsible along with being
massively humiliated.
Many Indian people very proud, very connected to others ...
gentle in spirit, loving, caring.
This world can be so not like that, many people just the opposite.
The DJ's crying on TV this am. When you live your life not caring about your action's effect
on others, it's a tough realization when you finally get how powerful hurt can be
at your hands.
They have paid with their jobs, hopefully now with their hearts. Live and learn,
unfortunately not for the kind hearted nurse. I have a feeling she was too good for this world.
I have empathy for this woman, who obviously was in a fragile state for whatever reason, and sympathy for her family's loss...but "too good"?
From all the reports, it would seem she was not in a 'fragile' state before this prank. Her husband was talking about the shame she felt, the humiliation at being made such a public laughing stock all over the world. Not only was she humiliated but she felt she also brought this upon her children and husband. The fact that she took immense pride in her work and she felt she had really failed not only her employer (who is not your 'average' employer), but herself. Her employers supported her and did not reprimand her (nor the other nurse who actually divulged the information).
The DJs were mocking her, even now not understanding how 'anyone' could have believed their accents and not understood it was a prank. Not just the DJs but the radio station all together as I understand this was recorded (without informing the hospital that the call was being recorded) and then the go ahead given to air without consent (even if they said they tried to call the hospital to get such consent).
Sad, sad state of affairs.
But you know what I think? What does this prank (or similar pranks/hoaxes) say of the 'public'/'us'? If 'we' didn't relish these kinds of things, these intrusions, humiliations, embarrassments, there wouldn't be any call for them.
Need to look at ourselves too.
I mean, yeah, there were/are probably underlying factors that contribute to thoughts of suicide that may or may not have manifested themselves in the past... but, the singular incident is the one that pulled the trigger.
Also... I cannot full responsibility on the D.J.s... just as I could never place the blame of a teenager setting himself on fire because of something he saw on 'Tosh.0', 'Jackass' or 'Bevis And Butthead'. I believe they might play a contributing factor, but do not bear the entire burden.
Hail, Hail!!!
of her as a person...
no need to debate that.
I have some very remarkable Indian people close to me which effects my feelings and empathy
for her, they are so far ahead of others in sensitivity, not for themselves but for others.
This is very good.
My original comment last week when I heard this was that she too was fragile....
I'm rethinking that though now.
absolutely ... that's what i wrote in my initial response ... and it goes to the OP's point ... we've become shallow beyond belief ... and what passes off as entertainment is pretty sad ...
That the actions of two put into motion a horrible unimaginable situation for many.
The thoughtless prank, the carelessness towards another human being's life,
ends in a lost life here in this world. A life given to help others
not be a detriment to some.
Big picture ... her life was not lived nor lost in vain. Nor will her children ever think so.
She leaves them as her legacy, I have a feeling they are a wonderful contribution,
we could use more like them and their mother.
I'll remember her soul forever.
but my understanding of the reports are that she didn't actually disclose anything, that she passed the phone to another nurse who disclosed the information. is that not correct?
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014