There was a time when pranks were harmless. A rite of passage in most offices. You get back to your desk after work and there was a message slip with a phone number. “Ask for C Lyons”. Belfast Zoo could get a bit snippy about that. On the other hand, there was a family in Glengormley who took it in good spirits. “Is Florence at home?”. “No she is taking Dougal for a walk”.
Harmless stuff. But the prank call has become a bit vicious. Tonight Noel Edmonds “Gotcha” has been mentioned but didnt that involve celebrities? The viciousness seems to involve Civilians and thats not good. Watching Jeremy Beadle on “Game For A Laugh” (and it owes something to “Candid Camera”), I was always struck that some of the pranks…even those with the victims family involved seemed to go way too far. Indeed there is a whole genre of TV built around pranking. And while it is not always clear that permission has been a obtained, it seems that many of the victims are only too happy to have a few moments of fame on the telly.
Yet there seems a certain arrogance. Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross for example……part of their crime was the sheer self-belief that they were untouchable. Andrew Sachs, their victim emerged with much more credit than they did.
The rise of Reality TV…..overlooks the fact that most people are essentially private people. And there is probably a grey area where the Civilians are complicit. For example one of the funniest pranks is the recording of a “cold caller” in USA………I am not sure about the legality in Norn Iron but essentially this involves dealing with a cold caller by identifying yourself as a police officer and asking him/her how he knew the deceased (you are at the victims house investigating his murder). When the “cold caller” attempts to sign off saying he was simply trying to sell double glazing, you insist he stays online…..you can trace the call and will charge him with obstructing the police. Of course the cold caller is panicking……”I cant give you my real name”…..”listen mate, I am a police officer” and of course he/she will panic so much he/she will give you phone number/private address etc so that you can arrange for the local police in Chicago, Illinois to take a statement.
Like I say DONT TRY THIS AT HOME.
But the case of a nurse (treating Kate Middleton) who it appears committed suicide after getting a call on her ward (at 2am)…..from “the Queen” and “Prince Charles” ….is a tragic reminder that people are Civilians!. We are not to be used for the purposes of entertainment.
Certainly the real “Prince” Charles speaking before the death of the nurse was known seemed relaxed. And the “Palace” have claimed they made no complaint to the hospital and the hospital itself claims they did not discipline the nurse involved. I am a little wary of accepting this at face value. The nurse was clearly duped. But all health service employees and indeed other professionals dealing with bank accounts, legal information etc are well aware of just how important confidentiality is.
Having listened to a recording, it would appear to me that the Australian “shock jocks” took just a little bit too much delight in how easy it all was. At the very least, the nurse must have felt embarrassed …if not humiliated.
Allegedly the Australian shock jocks are devastated about it all. They are off-air and the radio station is bombarded with messages which are highly critical. One is reported….ironically to be on “suicide watch”.
Tragic. But really there is no place in broadcasting to involve Civilians in this kinda prank. There are enough C and D list celebs out there happy enough to humiliate themselves for just a little oxygen of publicity.
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
true comment
Thank you Seán
Ultimately is you and yours, Fitzjameshorse that have caused this, and recent shock and sadness aside more strength to your arm.
Newspapers and radio are hemorrhaging readers and listerners at an alarming rate for them, to people like your good self and in response (some not all) are resorting to obnoxious pranks, right wing rabble rousing shock jocks and general lowest common denominator smut and abuse.
I have nothing to do with them and the sooner the internet kills them off the better.
Well my Blog is pretty low profile. A fairly niche but growing readership. And kudos here to Mick Fealty who linked to this Blog last week and brought me into unchartered territory in terms of ratings. When I started this Blog, I was lucky to get 15 or 20 views in a day. The thing about the numbers I get now is that it brings a certain “responsibility”> Likewise preparing stuff to go to USA in February …….I can do the one liners and orchestrate a punch line but can I get thru at a seminar where everyone will have an academic qualification at least as good as my own.
Strange……when I was working, I maybe bought three newspapers a day…..and that was much the same when I retired and was just in town for the day. I have seen days when I bought a paper (Guardian) to read going to Belfast, the Independent to read over lunch and the Times on way home. Expensive but basically the columnists are the thing……Read Ian Aiken, Hugo Young (RIP), Mick Hume whatever and get the feeling that someone is seeing the world the same way that I do. Its nothing to do with “news” itself.
Was just thinking last night that our car radio is just tuned to a local music channel that Mrs FJH likes to listen to on way to work. We have the car four years and nobody has ever got round to setting channels so that we have alternatives (it would take a degree in computers to actually tune the car radio).
And listening to the radio. Our big local thing is an eejit called Stephen Nolan and I refuse to get into a taxi …if the driver is listening to his daily dose of English C list celebrity and faux man of the people politics. A curious cross between Bill O’Reilly and alan Partridge. And of course all talk shows seemingly have to have TWO presenters to have a fabricated argument to make the punters phone in.
Interestingly Murdochs SKY empire is particuarly hostile to its fellow Australian broadcaster but one of the curious things that I feel is that go anywhere in the world…..USA, England, Australia and all radio presenters are clones of Stephen Nolan. Steve Coogan created alan Partridge and now Life is imitating Art.
With both the royal family and the hospital being fairly relaxed, why the media furore in the UK? A silly, not remotely funny prank was elevated in to an international (was it really? ) story by a media that is ever hungry for a royal story. Given the faux outrage over Newsnight (not) naming Mc Alpine, where is the outrage over a mediafest that may well have hurt the dignity of what was apparently a very professional nurse, a wife and a mother?
Does this explain the even greater outrage and the 2 talentless Australian DJs since Mrs Saldhana died?
Maybe, as Cameron is in defence mode for his friends in the media over his failure to implement the Levenson reccomendations,……