Ratings at What Price? Nurse’s Tragic Death is a Lesson to All

Prince William and Kate.

Every news broadcast carried the story of the prank perpetrated by two radio dj’s from Australia who called the hospital in which Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, was being treated for severe morning sickness, and received a sympathetic and informative response from the lovely nurse who took their call. Every news anchor covering it seemed to glory in the prank and it’s consequences, but what now that the poor nurse involved is dead (presumably by her own hand)?

British police were called to a residence in central London in response to reports of an unconscious woman, who was pronounced dead at the scene and the cause of death is not yet known.

The woman turned out to be Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse at the receiving end of a prank by Australian radio personalities Michael Christian and Mel Greig of 2DayFM. Both later apologized along with their radio station when the backlash from the prank became apparent, but what good is an apology to Jacintha Saldanha?

Who was there for Jacintha and how was she treated for being the immediate victim of this ‘vicious’ prank?

Yes, it was vicious. The radio station and hosts may rationalize this saying they never meant to harm anyone, but really, what did they expect to happen when they essentially targeted and bullied an unknown person? This type of prank should never be played on someone we know, much less someone we don’t know.

Lately the media has been starting to bear the consequences of their actions and partisanship and this is yet another nasty example. Let this be the last time something like this happens. I hope the media quickly returns to the age-old ideals of journalism and stops executing these extreme, shock worthy stunts solely for ratings.