MUMBAI: The tragic suicide of UK nurse Jacintha Saldanha following a hoax (prank) call by Australian RJ has suddenly shifted focus on the role and responsibilities of radio jockeys (RJs) around the world.
In India, RJs are immensely popular and known for their bubbly presence on-air. Like most public figures, they command certain amount of following. They have judiciously avoided being involved in any controversy owing to their common sense and presence of mind. With the media and public glare constantly on them, Indian RJs across the board have shared their views on the unfortunate incident and the lessons that can be learnt.
“I think the whole incident was blown out of proportion. It just happened to be a case of the wrong people, at the wrong place and at the wrong time. It was a one-in-a-million chance that happened. I am still confused on how a simple case could lead to such a tragedy. An inquiry must be held, it doesn’t make sense,” says Radio City RJ Salil Acharya.
‘Defending’ the Australian RJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian of 2Day FM who made the calls pretending to be the Queen of England, RJ Salil added that the decision to make the prank call was one that could easily have been an ‘award winning’ call if it had been successfully pulled off with no tragic aftermath. The prank call was made to the King Edward VII hospital in Marylebone, central London which was answered by nurse Jacintha who later killed herself of shame on 7 December.
“We have often called the President’s place to ask what the menu is and have never faced problems. I don’t think the call was out of place, like a bomb scare. It was aimed at the royal family but in this case, it was the messenger who committed suicide,” he said.
Radio One’s RJ Hrishi Kanan aka Hrishi K, speaking strictly at a personal level feels differently. For Kanan, such antics are passé and no longer have impact on listeners. He feels India’s RJs and listeners are lucky as the jokes are still tame compared to other countries where the pressure to be outrageous is overbearing on the RJs.
“Fundamentally, I don’t like the concept and I feel it is not a required mode to get higher ratings or as a form of entertainment. The whole concept of ‘Bakras’ and prank calls to me is so 90s. Everyone from Howard Stern to MTV has done it and a generation has grown on it with every conceivable trick played out. I think this kind of stunt is actually regressive, radio has moved on,” he said.
Kanan believes that the reason why some radio stations still resort to crank/ prank calls is due to the misconception that programmes like these get the station attention and listenership.
He added, “Playing out these prank calls or ‘Bakra’ on famous persons can have grievous implications as we have just seen. And as programmes, they no longer raise eyebrows. But many stations still feel doing something outrageous will boost their RAM (Radio Audience Measurement) ratings.”
If there is a finger to be pointed, Kanan would point it at the radio stations who he feels need to be ‘more responsible.’
“In India we are lucky to be more conservative. The radio shows in the US, UK and Australia are far more blatant. Here we have strong values and foundations unlike the US or UK. The government too has a lot of measures in place and Prasar Bharti would come down heavily on any untoward incident on part of radio stations,” he stated.
Radio Mirchi’s RJ Meera feels that although pulling someone’s leg- whether s/he is famous or not may get the laughs, what is important is not to hurt the person’s feeling or humiliate them.
She highlighted, “We only take up a joke if the friend of the person on whom the joke is played, sends us an SMS to pull a fast one. And once we have delivered the punch line, we make it a point to play out the episode and seek his consent to air the joke. We always make it a point to have a proper closure. Having said that, I personally like to have fun ‘with’ not ‘at’ people. If what we do causes frustration or desperation, it won’t be humour but instead will be cheap humour.”
RJ Meera also said that every radio station has a strict code of conduct and everyone works within its framework. Every issue that seems to cross the framework is discussed by the whole team. Regarding the tragic prank call, she said, “No RJ will ever imagine that such a tragedy would result from their prank. I’m sure there was a pre and post call discussion that involved the whole station.”
Red FM’s RJ Rohini Ramanathan agrees with Meera. Pranks are part of an RJ repertoire and no jock would expect such an outcome from a prank call. Ramanathan also advocates the following rules when undertaking mischievous assignments.
“There are a couple of rules we always follow: One we inform the person by calling them back after the prank is over and tell them it was a joke. Secondly, we always take their consent to air the joke,” she stated.
The Australian government has said it would donate a minimum of Australian dollars 4 5,00,000 (USD 5,23,600) to a memorial fund to help Saldanha’s grieving family.
“On hindsight we can only realize we are all humans and we have to face the fact that nothing can bring Nurse Jacintha Saldanha back,” Ramanathan pointed out.
The silver lining out of the tragic incident and the sudden media glare on their profession is that this phase can be an opportunity for RJs and radio stations in India to reflect on their work and responsibilities, feels Ramanathan.
She said, “Certainly the radar has picked us up. I am not scared but the the day I pulled a prank, I was aware. There is the media glare and the pressure, but one must not look at it in isolation. It’s a good time for us to remember that there is a human being at the end of the line. We can get caught in the ratings and RAM. The realization of our responsibilities seeps in with experience. People listen to us every day and we are happy when people are happy, not when they are sad.”