MAX Moore-Wilton, chairman of Southern Cross Media, who own the Sydney radio station behind the tragic radio prank call has played down the incident, saying “sh*t happens.”
During the media group’s annual general meeting in Melbourne, Moore-Wilton told shareholders: “These incidents were unfortunate, no doubt about that.”
“But in the immotal words of someone whose identity I cannot recall, sh*t happens.”
Southern Cross Media, one of Australia’s major media companies, owns radio station 2Day FM, Triple M and a regional TV network.
Last year, 2Day FM presenters Michael Christian and Mel Grieg pranked called King Edward VII’s Hosptial in London, pretending to be the Queen and Price Charles inquiring about the health of the Kate Middleton who was pregnant at the time.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who transferred the call to a duty nurse who proceeded to give out information about the Duchess of Cambridge, committed suicide three days after the incident.
Following the AGM meeting Fairfax media questioned whether Moore-Wilton regretted what he had said. He replied ‘‘I think it was a one sentence comment wasn’t it.’’
However it seems there is such a thing as bad press, as figures revealed during the AGM show the media company’s market share and radio revenues has fallen during the last financial year, due to 2Day FM’s royal prank call, and other scandals involving radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands.
The media company faced serious backlash over the royal prank call. Immediately following the incident, all advertising was suspended and shares in the media company fell eight per cent.