Wil Anderson "a terrible tragedy"

In an article in the Fairfax Press today, journalist Michael Lallo has spoken with three former Southern Cross Austereo presenters regarding this weeks prank call, and the tragic consequences.

Wil Anderson made the following comments;

"Firstly, I have sympathy for the nurse and her family because this is a terrible tragedy, but I also have a fair degree of sympathy for these kids (MC and Mel)"

"These are kids who are trying to make a name in an industry where Kyle Sandilands gets all the attention. Is the culture of radio to blame? Possibly. But people make thousands of these prank calls each year and they usually result in good material".

Current 2UE, and former Triple M and Nova, Announcer Paul Murray said that the incident was not malicious;

"People are intentionally trying to put it in that category, but it wasn't malicious ... it was a big mistake. Contrary to popular belief, people in FM radio don't sit in front of a whiteboard and say, 'Who can we hurt today?'." 

"This is simply not in the same category as the lie-detector incident. Do people get hurt in radio? Yes, by accident. Should that organisation apologise and change their rules and policies when that happens? Absolutely".

Paul Murray also commented on his recollection of SCA prank call policy saying that he recalled it being;

"you must get the subject's permission before you put the prank call to air (but) those rules don't extend to subjects who are overseas".

Pete Helliar, who was on 2Day and 3MMM said;

"This is absolutely tragic (but) I don't think you can blame these guys completely for what happened. People should be careful in going too hard on these guys."

"They never would have thought, in a million years, that it would have gone this far. I feel sorry for everyone involved, especially for the lady and her family."

You can read the complete article in the Fairfax Press here.

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Anonymous (1:03pm 09 Dec 2012)

It's the bullying culture of radio stations like 2day and 2GB that is really upsetting people. Whether it be Alan Jones on his pulpit or some kids on late night radio getting some easy laughs.

Some of the harsh comments made by Wil Anderson and the Chaser boys directed at individuals have made me wince more than once

Anonymous (1:04pm 09 Dec 2012)

I'm sure I'm going to cop it writing this....But Isn't it amazing that only people who have been on the air (such as the blokes listed above) could possibly understand what MC & Mel are going through. I understand a lady lost her life, but all everyone knows is what the media are feeding them. No one in Australia knows this nurse from a bar of soap and doesn't know the whole truth or complete meaning behind her death!

To Wil, Peter Hellier & Paul Murray - good on you guys for having your say and it's great to see the support shown for our fellow colleagues during this very sad time (They don't have a great deal from the listeners!).

Like each of you said, it's a tragedy, but is taking such drastic action on these young announcers really worth it? What will it achieve? The shock of this situation should be bad enough!

Mike (5:53pm 09 Dec 2012)

At what point in society did it become good old fashioned fun to make a prank phone call to a woman in the critical first trimester of pregnancy who was so seriously ill that she needed to be hospitalised and put on a drip for for own health and that of her unborn child?

I have asked that question a few times in the last day or two, and so far no-one in the radio industry has been able to answer it.

Gray (10:18pm 09 Dec 2012)

"Firstly, I have sympathy for the nurse and her family because this is a terrible tragedy, but I also have a fair degree of sympathy for these kids (MC and Mel)"

Have a sentence for the victims, immediately followed by a "but"?