Australian prank call DJ sues employer

[specialsubject]

Mel Greig is suing her employer for 'failing to provide a safe workplace'. Quite happy to do the nasty childish pranks until one goes really wrong, and then all of a sudden it isn't her fault.

her male colleague was equally culpable, hope he doesn't also try to twist a fortune out of not having the guts to say 'no'.

bullying can cause tragedy. Bullies need to take the consequences.

[echt]

The male half of this duo, Michael Christian, won't have to twist to get any money out of his employers as they, Southern Cross Austereo, honoured him with their "Top Jock award" a few weeks ago.

His comment: "I'm at the top of my game".

I'm glad to say this move on the part of the employer was greeted with near-universal disgust.

[specialsubject]

it just gets worse!

[Aetae]

You think the DJs came up with the idea for the call on their own? Hardly.

[Ididabravebravething]

words fail me regarding this

[AKissIsNotAContract]

What call?

[BrianTheMole]

Surely it is in part the radio stations fault though. I seem to remember them saying that the prank had been run by their legal dept first, before going live. And that the legal dept had ok'd it. Why wouldn't they bear some responsibility too?

[pictish]

What prank?

[WidowWadman]

Can't imagine any legal department "okaying" something - they give risk advice not approval, the call of how to act on this advice is made by editors, surely?

[BrianTheMole]

Not sure, its just something I remember them saying in their interview afterwards.

[specialsubject]

they may not have had the idea, but they did the deed. Lots of other stupid pranks too.

while they could not have foreseen the actual outcome, prank calls are bullying. No sympathy here.

[AKissIsNotAContract]

Can anyone explain what the prank was?

[Erato]

Back story.

[Erato]

Yes, it was okayed by the legal department of the radio station. The woman who tragically took her own life wasn't pushed over the edge solely by this incident - she'd attempted suicide several times before. It was a very sad confluence of events that was blown completely out of proportion through a combination of royal-hysteria, colony-bashing and general opprobrium/moral high-horse behaviour.

I agree with you that prank calls are bullying, but the punishment in this case I think was disproportionate. You can't say that any punishment is ok for bullying, there has to be a line - for example, being slowly tortured to death would be disproportionate (at the extreme end). So I do have some sympathy for the DJs view that her employer should share the pain.

[Rosa]

I have to turn anything off that gives me the slightest cringe feeling....They were the wrong - the whole radio station DJs , manager legal team whoever and they should be fired / shut down IMO for what they did.