2Day FM, the Australian radio station that made a name for itself by prank calling Kate Middleton‘s hospital during her pregnancy, is taking legal action to prevent an investigation by a media watchdog. The call purportedly caused one of Middleton’s nurses to commit suicide.
The Australian Federal Court ruled that the Australian Communication and Media Authority had the right to investigate the station over the possibility that it had broken the law by using a broadcasting service in the commission of an offense through its prank call.
That was the finding of a preliminary report by the ACMA which led to a court hearing in June. A hearing on Nov. 7 upheld the ACMA’s right to investigate, but 2Day FM, owned by Southern Cross Media, has now launched an appeal. The case will be called on Feb. 15.
If the station is found to have used a broadcasting service in the commission of an offense, then they will have broken the conditions of their broadcasting license, so you can understand why they might be reluctant to have an investigation take place.
As if that wasn’t enough, the station is also facing legal action from Mel Greig, one of the DJs involved in the prank call, who has alleged that the station failed to provide her with a safe place of work.
The DJs phoned London’s King Edward VII Hospital, where Middleton was being treated, and pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles in an attempt to get information on the situation. They later issued an apology, but Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who forwarded their call along to others who gave details about Duchess, ended up hanging herself three days later.
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