Michael Christian and Mel Greig break down on A Current Affair, in the first interview since the nurse answering their prank call died. Courtesy Nine Network.
THE management of 2Day FM Austereo remain in the crosshairs over responsibility for the royal radio prank, with its "shattered" DJs confirming the decision to broadcast the fateful hoax call was "taken out of our hands."
The Sydney station, 2Day FM, said it had tried to contact King Edward VII's Hospital five times to discuss the prank call conducted with two nurses, one of whom, Jacintha Saldanha, was found dead on Friday in a suspected suicide.
But a hospital spokesman said: "Following the hoax call, the station did not talk to anyone in hospital senior management or anyone at the company that handles our media inquiries."
Distraught radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian offered an emotional apology to the family of UK nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who is thought to have taken her own life after last week connecting the syndicated Sydney radio program's call to another nurse caring for the Duchess of Cambridge.
A tearful Greig told Seven's Today Tonight she would face Ms Saldanha's partner, Benedict Barboza, daughter Lisha and son Junal at any coronial inquest into the 47-year-old's death if it helped the grieving family "get some closure."
Greig's first thoughts: 'Was she a mother'
Jacintha Saldanha, pictured centre with her children Junal and Lisha. Picture: Mangalore Media Company
"If we played any involvement in her death, then we're very sorry for that. And time will only tell,'' she said.
"We're incredibly sorry for the harm that we may have helped contribute (to),'' said Christian, adding he felt "gutted, shattered and heartbroken''.
But Austereo boss Rhys Holleran has been challenged to justify why his network put the Greig and her co-host up for media interviews after her family had raised concerns for her mental health.
The chief executive said the interviews with Nine's A Current Affair and TT were "something they felt strongly they wanted to do".
Speaking about when they first found out about the tragedy that followed their prank call, the 2Day FM hosts broke down on A Current Affair. Vision courtesy of Channel 9.
"They feel great sadness, it was their decision," Mr Holleran said. "We took into account the views of the professionals we've had helping these young people. We took all of that into account."
He denied the network had breached Australian Communications and Media Authority guidelines.
"We had a process and procedure in place, we followed those procedures and part of that was a legal review," Mr Holleran said. "As an organisation, we believe we've done what was necessary ..."
The presenters' fragile state was obvious during questioning by Nine's Tracy Grimshaw and Seven reporter Clare Brady, who each taped 15-minute interviews with them at Austereo's Sydney headquarters yesterday.
Channel 9 say the did not pay DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig for the interview. Picture: Channel 9
Pushed to explain the process which saw the recorded prank call vetted and cleared for broadcast, Christian would only say "people far above us" were left to approve the exchange between Greig, posing as the Queen, and another unknown nurse, who explained the condition of the pregnant royal.
"I'm 100 per cent honest in saying I'm, we're, not privy to what happens with this call, mind you, this call is no different to what happens with anything else, you know, regardless of the content or the context or what's been recorded, it's the same, it's the same process and I'm certainly not aware of what filters it needs to pass through. All we know is it's passed on and then we're told either yay or nay," he said.
Greig said: "It's not up to us to make that decision. We just record it and then it goes to the other departments to work it out. I don't know what they then do with it. We just do what we do, which is make those calls."
As the international backlash continued, threats made by online hackers to shut down the station's cyber systems were of little worry, Greig said.
The radio DJs have apologised to the family of the nurse who answered their prank call in an emotional interview on Today Tonight. Courtesy:Channel Seven
"There's nothing that can make me feel worse than what I feel right now. And for what I feel for the family. We're so sorry that this has happened to them," she told TT, crying.
Asked if she wanted to send a message to the bereaved family, Greig said: "I've thought about this a million times in my head that I've wanted to just reach out to them and give them a big hug and say sorry and I hope they are okay, I really do."
"There's not a minute that goes by that we aren't thinking about her and her family and the thought that we might have played a part in that is gut-wrenching."
While Ms Saldanha, known to work colleagues and friends as Jess, was being mourned around the world, her ailing mother was reportedly not even aware of her daughter's death.
2Day FM presenters Michael Christian (L) and Mel Greig being interviewed by Tracy Grimshaw on A Current Affair. Picture: AFP PHOTO / NINE NETWORK "A CURRENT AFFAIR".
The Times of India said family members had chosen not to inform Carmine Saldanha of her daughter's passing because she was suffering from heart problems and was under sedation.
Britain's Daily Mail reported the beloved nurse and mother had "died of shame". The Mail quoted her brother Naveen as saying: "She would have felt much shame about the incident."
The prank call to the switchboard of King Edward VII hospital in London, where Prince William's wife was being treated for severe morning sickness, had been an "innocent idea," the radio pair said.
Faking a British accent, Greig posed as Queen Elizabeth and was transferred promptly by Ms Saldanha to a ward nurse, who then conveyed details of the royal patient's condition.
08/12/2012 NEWS: 2DayFM DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian on air.
Christian said the joke "was meant to be on us," the Summer Hot30 team expecting to be hung up on or reprimanded by hospital authorities.
"The call to begin with wasn't about speaking to Kate. It wasn't about trying to get a scoop or anything. The call was just, I mean we'd assumed that we'd be hung up on and that'd be that."
Greig added: "You know it was designed to be stupid. We were never meant to get that far (with) the little corgies (colleagues) barking in the background. We obviously wanted it to be a joke."
Her co-star said: "There was no malice in the call. There was no digging. There was no trying to upset or get a reaction."
Meanwhile, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy described the radio hoax as "tragic" and confirmed ACMA was taking the unusual step of talking directly to 2DayFM.
The media watchdog normally waits for listeners to make complaints and only becomes involved if they remain unresolved.
2DayFM would not comment on reports it had already received more than 1000 complaints.
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