Southern Cross Austereo, the owner of 2Day FM that made prank call to a British hospital earlier last week, has decided to resume advertising on Thursday and donate all the ad revenue till the end of the year towards a fund of the nurse's family, who was found dead after hoax call.
Southern Cross Austereo had earlier suspended all advertising on 2Day FM besides terminating 2Day FM's Hot 30 show and prank calls following the tragic death of Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old nurse of Indian origin working at the Edward VII Hospital.
The parent company of the radio station said that it would donate all the ad revenue, which would amount to at least A$500,000, towards the memorial fund for the deceased nurse, who apparently took her own life after receiving the prank call from the radio station.
"We are very sorry for what has happened. It is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts continue to be with the family. We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time. The Company today reiterates that it is deeply saddened by this tragic and unforeseen event and offers its condolences to the family of Jacintha Saldanha," SCA Chief Executive Officer Rhys Holleran said in a statement.
Jacintha, the mother of two, on Tuesday put through a call from 2Day FM radio station presenters Michael Christian and Mel Greig, who pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, to Kate Middleton's nurse, leading to the revelation of the condition of the Duchess of Cambridge, who was undergoing treatment for morning sickness at the Edward VII Hospital in Central London.
The 2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who carried out the prank call earlier last week, said that they were shattered by the turns of events.
"Unfortunately I remember that moment very well, because I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened," Greig told Australian television while fighting back tears. "I remember my first question was 'was she a mother?'."
"I've wanted to just reach out to them and just give them a big hug and say sorry. I hope they're okay, I really do. I hope they get through this," said Greig when asked about mother of two Saldanha's children, left grieving their mother's death with their father Ben Barboza.
Christian, who joined the station just a few days before the tragic incident happened, said that he wish the family of the deceased gets proper support.
"I hope that they get the love, the support, the care that they need, you know," said Christian
"We thought a hundred people before us would've tried it. We thought it was such a silly idea and the accents were terrible and not for a second did we expect to speak to Kate, let alone have a conversation with anyone at the hospital. We wanted to be hung up on," said Greig.
The DJs were criticized on social networking sites like facebook and twitter following the tragic death of Saldanha.
