Southern Cross Austereo bosses scramble to radio fallout shelter
AMY HARRIS
The Daily Telegraph
December 10, 2012 12:00AM
THE fate of under-fire radio hosts Mel Greig and Michael Christian - and their show - hangs in the balance today as radio bosses continue to deal with the fallout from the royal hoax tragedy, regarded as the biggest scandal in Southern Cross Austereo's history.
The DJs, who remained in hiding yesterday, are likely to face the media either today or tomorrow to offer their first public apology in a bid to calm the global outrage following the apparent suicide of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who put the prank call through to the Duchess of Cambridge's London hospital ward.
Just 36 hours after news of Ms Saldanha's apparent suicide broke, SCA executives and board members were locked in talks about how best to deal with the crisis - and how to avoid anything like it happening again.
It's understood the discussions - led by SCA chairman Max Moore-Wilton and Austereo CEO Rhys Holleran - addressed all aspects of the "tragedy'' and, in particular, the letter sent to Mr Moore-Wilton by the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital, Lord Glenarthur, in which he condemned the prank phone call to Kate Middleton's private nurse.
Last night Mr Moore-Wilton wrote an email, which Mr Holleran sent to the hospital, which failed to apologise for the radio network's behaviour.
"It is too early to know the full details leading to this tragic event and we are anxious to review the results of an investigation that may be made available to us or made public,'' Mr Moore-Wilton wrote, adding the broadcaster was "taking immediate action and reviewing the broadcast and processes involved".
While Mr Holleran last night wouldn't talk about SCA's response to the letter, it's understood executives have been deeply shocked by the fallout from the prank and launched a full investigation into the origin of the phone call, the producer and staff behind the idea and the decision to subsequently re-air it on social network platforms.
"There are questions that obviously require some answers and this is not something the network is treating lightly and can't be seen to be treating lightly,'' said a network insider.
Radio sources have also indicated much of the meeting focused on how to preserve relationships with advertisers and sponsors in the wake of the decision by major partners Telstra and Coles to temporarily withdraw their support. "Crisis consultant" Sandy Kaye said that the network did expect boycotting sponsors to eventually return.
"So far Telstra and Coles have ceased all advertising but I don't expect that will be forever,'' she said.
The Today Network - SCA's radio arm - is Australia's No.1 FM radio network with just over 3.5 million metro listeners each week and over 1.1 million users online.
Lord Glenarthur wrote to Mr Moore-Wilton, expressing his disgust. "King Edward VII's Hospital cares for sick people, and it was extremely foolish of your presenters even to consider trying to lie their way through to one of our patients, let alone actually make the call,'' he wrote.
"Then to discover that, not only had this happened but that the call had been pre-recorded and the decision to transmit approved by your station's management, was truly appalling.
"The longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words."I appreciate that you cannot undo the damage which has been done but I would urge you to take steps to ensure that such an incident could never be repeated.''
The letter also demanded any similar pranks never be repeated and that the network, as a whole, must be aware of the immediate and long-term consequences.
"The immediate consequence of these premeditated and ill-considered actions was the humiliation of two dedicated and caring nurses who were simply doing their job tending to their patients,'' it continued.
As for the future of announcers Mel Greig and Michael Christian, it's understood the crisis talks addressed the need to maintain support for them and that both should retain a position within SCA in the short term.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) last night said that a decision to pursue an independent investigation into the incident was still yet to be made.
"ACMA does not propose to make any comments at this stage but ... will be engaging with the licensee, Today FM Sydney,... around the facts and issues surrounding the prank call,'' she said.
