[Zakattack]

Originally Posted by Delraich

I think there are a number of issues to consider in this case:

• It seems generally accepted that the nurse was publicly embarrassed/ humiliated at an international level as a result of this prank.
• It seems reasonable to assume that this embarrassment/ humiliation impacted the nurse on both professional (e.g. if she breached patient confidentiality, she may be worried about allegations of professional misconduct and the legal proceedings that go with that) and personal levels (being on the receiving end of international scale cyber bullying).
• There seems to be a reasonable argument that this prank was not legal/ breached Australian standards (e.g. consent was not obtained from the nurse prior to broadcasting; consent was not obtained to record the phone call).

When going through each point above, one would need to consider:

• Do you think that bullying is acceptable?
• If you think bullying is acceptable, is there a point where it stops being acceptable (e.g. when it becomes international, when it results in a very tangible and tragic end, when it crosses multiple boundaries such as personal/ professional/ law)
• Irrespective of where you stand on bullying, if a legal requirement has been compromised then this should be processed accordingly.

When it comes to "who to blame", I guess this is an interesting argument:
I read an article where this segment was created at a team meeting and approved.
I also read that that this show was approved by the station before being aired.
So who do you "blame"?
The hosts who actually did the deed
The station for approving it all
Or both because everyone was involved?

i do see your point bruv but at the same time the nurse is only human and we all make mistakes no need to take your own life in my eyes. but as for whos to blame maybe the hospital she workd for should have given better client confidentiality training???

[Cyanide]

Originally Posted by Delraich

Do you think that bullying is acceptable?

Bullying is a very strong term.
WikiQuoted: Bullying may be defined as the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person, physically or mentally.
So no, it isn't bullying.

Originally Posted by Delraich

when it becomes international, when it results in a very tangible and tragic end, when it crosses multiple boundaries such as personal/ professional/ law)

All of which, didn't seem to be anticipated. Call made on Sydney radio station, prolly expected it to remain within Australian contexts? But in this day and age where information can spread like wildfire, people need to rethink media ethics (which is being reviewed at this point).

As for who is PARTLY responsible, everyone involved at the radio station is definitely culpable.
Once again though, I firmly believe that they were other circumstances that added to her distress.

Additionally, the hospital should be responsible for being so sloppy in its verification process as well. The second nurse didn't think twice to check?

Scotland Yard are NOT calling it a suicide. And until an inquest has been done and an official COD can be determined, we shouldn't be calling it a suicide either.

[eCKo`Tazerenix]

Sounds like a witchhunt for the sake of good news content to me.

If the nurse was in a state of mind where something such as this interview prompted her to commit suicide, then it wasn't the interview that caused her to commit suicide.

Quick Comments

Dox:

agreed, best post in the thread

[TABjornbrandr]

The death of the nurse is obviously a tragedy, though as stated countless times it does appear as though the prank was simply the tip of the iceberg and one would reasonably expect that there was more at play behind the scenes regarding the suicide.

The prank call itself, whilst a stupid thing to do, is about all you can expect from commercial radio. If the audience loves humour for the simple-minded, don't be surprised when that's what you get. Exactly the same as the Alan Jones situation (a lot of the non-Australians may be unaware of what occurred) - he's obviously a complete tool that has not much to say beyond the bilge he spouts day in and day out, but you can hardly just turn around and crucify the man for doing what he's always done.

Do keep in mind, however, that for some people in the UK, royal families are an extremely important figurehead for their respective regions and I would not be surprised if the nurse was under extreme pressure and judgement from her co-workers.

All-in-all, it's horrible that a life has been lost and regarding the DJs, the public backlash will be punishment enough for them. Finally, I'd like to echo the sentiment that the management should be the ones who cop flak for the fiasco - to place a lost life on the head of the two DJs is simply scapegoating.

[Delraich]

Originally Posted by Cyanide

Bullying is a very strong term.
WikiQuoted: Bullying may be defined as the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person, physically or mentally.
So no, it isn't bullying.

I guess it depends on which definition of bullying you use. I found this one from a school website here in Australia:
"Bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies.

Bullying can involve humiliation, domination, intimidation, victimisation and all forms of harassment including that based on sex, race, disability, homosexuality or transgender. Bullying of any form or for any reason can have long-term effects on those involved including bystanders. Bullying can happen anywhere: at school, travelling to and from school, in sporting teams, between neighbours or in the workplace.

Bullying behaviour can be:
Verbal e.g. name calling, teasing, abuse, putdowns, sarcasm, insults, threats
Physical eg hitting, punching, kicking, scratching, tripping, spitting
Social e.g. ignoring, excluding, ostracising, alienating, making inappropriate gestures
Psychological e.g. spreading rumours, dirty looks, hiding or damaging possessions, malicious SMS and email messages, inappropriate use of camera phones.

Conflict or fights between equals and single incidents are not defined as bullying. Bullying behaviour is not: children not getting along well, a situation of mutual conflict, single episodes of nastiness or random acts of aggression or intimidation."

I think you have a good point about the testing the definition of bullying and whether the act of broadcasting the nurse's conversation constituted cyber bullying.

Regardless of intent, the broadcast resulted in:

• Humiliation of the nurse (in particular her professional competency due to disclosure of confidential patient information)
• Repeated use of the broadcast (a recording of the call, broadcast repeatedly by the station, rapidly became an Internet hit and was reprinted as a transcript in many newspapers.)
• Communicated/ distributed in a way that it could easily go global (plus it was an international prank involving international people/ celebrities).

I would argue the opposite and say that the repeated broadcasting of this embarrassing phone conversation could constitute cyber bullying. I guess time will tell because I have a feeling this issue isn't over yet.

[mGGAequitas]

keep in mind that the nurse who suicided was the first one, the one who simply forwarded the callers to the appropriate nurse. She only talked for a few seconds and wasn't the one who gave away any "personal information".
It is highly unlikely that this call had any impact at all in her decision to take her own life. The "news" just like creating bullshit out of the faintest of connections.
Next on channel 9: Is water bad for you? 100% of people who come into contact with water will eventually die!

Quick Comments

TADivinity:

She put the call through. It was her responsibility to block it. Still not reason enough for suicide.