Royal baby prank call DJ Mel Greig pens an awesome letter to the media

IT was a silly radio stunt that ended in death and disgrace. Now, in a powerful open letter to the media, Mel Greig has revealed what she learnt from the incident.

Mel Greig portrait

IN a powerful open letter to the media, DJ Mel Greig has revealed the painful lessons she learnt from the silly royal baby prank call that ended one life and dramatically altered the course of many others, including her own.

Writing for Rendez-View, Greig says she was inspired to write by the number of requests she has had from media outlets to comment on the impending birth of another royal baby.

READ MEL GREIG’S FULL LETTER TO THE MEDIA ON RENDEZ-VIEW

In 2012, as the Duchess of Cambridge was due to give birth, Greig and fellow 2DayFM DJ Michael Christian prank-called the maternity wing of King Edward VII’s Hospital in London and got through to the Duchess’s suite after impersonating the Queen and Prince Charles.

The prank caused worldwide outrage after the nurse who put the call through, Jacintha Saldanha, committed suicide three days later.

Saldanha explicitly blamed the DJs in a suicide note.

In disgrace ... Michael Christian and Mel Greig were interviewed on Today Tonight in the days after Jacintha Saldanha’s suicide. Picture: Channel 7

Three years on and with the arrival of another royal baby imminent, Greig revealed that she and Christian were driven to come up with the stunt to create a “unique angle”.

“I sat there and agreed to prank call a hospital to create a ‘unique angle’ — a harmless and stupid idea that sadly ended in tragedy, as we felt obliged to cover the pregnancy and to do it differently,” Greig wrote.

“It’s an amazing industry to work in, it really is. But for the first time I’m sitting on the outside looking in and I have to ask: Is the pressure from above becoming too much? Are we becoming careless and ruthless to chase a headline?”

The DJ, who returned to a radio studio for the first time since the incident in March this year, has also revealed that she was also the victim of media crossing the line, after the prank call tragedy made headlines.

A friend who also worked in the media doorknocked Greig’s parents and neighbours “looking for a new angle on the story”, she wrote.

“I’ve crossed the line too. But the difference is, I’ve learnt from it and I’ll continue to work in the media so I can help others to think before they act.”

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