On December 3, British people received with joy the news that the Duchess of Cambridge was expecting a baby. A few days later, though on December 7, the whole world was struck with the news that one of the nurses that worked at the King Edward VII hospital, where the Duchess was hospitalized due to severe morning sickness, was found dead in her room, in an apparent suicide.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was one of the two victims of a prank call (also called 'hoax call') made from an Australian radio station by DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig, who pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, to inquire after the Duchess.
The BBC has recently published on its website an interesting article on the issue of prank calls. The article reflects, among other things, on the fact that it is different to call a public figure, used to the limelight, from calling a common member of the public. Here you have an extract:
'The death of the nurse Jacintha Saldanha has put the business of hoax calls under the spotlight. Where is the line between humour and cruelty?
Hoax calls - where someone winds up a friend or colleague by pretending to be their boss or an important person - are almost as old as the telephone itself. They have been a staple of TV and radio entertainment programmes since the 1950s when American comedians Steve Allen and Johnny Carson began making them on the Tonight show'.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was one of the two victims of a prank call (also called 'hoax call') made from an Australian radio station by DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig, who pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, to inquire after the Duchess.
The BBC has recently published on its website an interesting article on the issue of prank calls. The article reflects, among other things, on the fact that it is different to call a public figure, used to the limelight, from calling a common member of the public. Here you have an extract:
'The death of the nurse Jacintha Saldanha has put the business of hoax calls under the spotlight. Where is the line between humour and cruelty?
Hoax calls - where someone winds up a friend or colleague by pretending to be their boss or an important person - are almost as old as the telephone itself. They have been a staple of TV and radio entertainment programmes since the 1950s when American comedians Steve Allen and Johnny Carson began making them on the Tonight show'.
'We're both shattered. My first thought was: Is she a mother?'
Radio hosts at centre of prank give self-pitying interviews.
Australian presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian apologise for stunt.
Two interviews on Australian TV about death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha.
Greig: 'When I heard it was the worst phone call I have ever had in my life'. She adds: 'I care about the family and want their privacy to be respected'
(source: mail online)
The DJs who made the prank call break their silence:
Click here for a full transcript of the interview. Please note that you'll have to scroll down to find the transcription)
So after examining all the facts, please WRITE A COMMENT answering the question: SHOULD PRANK CALLS BE BANNED?
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