“These people [the DJs] aren’t machines, they’re human beings. What happened is incredibly tragic and we’re deeply saddened and we’re incredibly affected by that. I think prank calls as a craft in radio have been going for decades and decades and are not just part of one radio station or network or country. No-one could have reasonably foreseen what ended up being an incredibly tragic day.”
Rhys Holleran, CEO of Southern Cross Austereo, which owns Sydney’s 2Day FM
“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. 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 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. The longer-term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words.”
Lord Simon Glenarthur, Chairman of the King Edward VII Hospital in London, in a letter to the radion station bosses
“She was a lovely, lovely person who always spoke to you when you saw her. You could always see that she was very dedicated to her job. Both DJs should be sacked they should never have been allowed to do what they did. She would be alive today if they hadn’t have made that call.”
Mary Atwell, Jacintha’s neighbour
