The two DJs at the centre of a prank call to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was staying have spoken for the first time since the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha. 
 
 Mel Greig and Michael Christian told of their distress upon hearing about Saldanha's death. 
 
 "[It was] the worst phone call I've ever had in my life," Greig told the Nine network's A Current Affair programme. 
 
 "There's not a minute that goes by that I don't think about what that family [of nurse Jacintha Saldanha] is going through and the thought that we may have contributed to it is gut-wrenching," she said. 
 
 Asked if she had a message for Saldanha's family, Greig said she'd thought about it "a million times in my head and have wanted to reach out to them and just give them a big hug. I hope they're OK, I really do". 
 
 "Our deepest sympathies go out to the family," said Michael Christian. "We just hope that her family and friends are being as good as they can be and are giving [them] the love and support they need. We are shattered." 
 
 The two DJs were speaking for the first time since they went into hiding on Saturday when news broke of the the death. They gave interviews to both Channel Nine and Channel Seven's main evening current affairs programmes. 
 
 Asked by Channel 9 whose idea the prank call was, the DJs said it had come up at a team meeting before the show, but did not say who suggested it. 
 
 "We had the idea for a simple harmless call. A call that would go for 30 seconds that we thought we would be hung up on," said Christian. Neither expected their call to be put through to the Duchess of Cambridge's room. 
 
 Christian and Greig said they thought the joke was on them and their poor accents rather than on the nurses. 
 
 "Every other media outlet wanted to touch on it. Our angle was having those silly accents," said Grieg. 
 
 They reiterated that no one could have expected or foreseen what happened after the call. "At every single point it was innocent on our behalf. It was something that was funny and lighthearted and a tragic turn of events that I don't think could have predicted," said Christian. 
 
 Both DJs said they had not participated in the vetting of the interview. They said it was standard practice for them to record an item then hand it over to be assessed by others. Both said they did not know what the vetting process included. 
 
 The segment was subject to an internal review, including with 2Day FM's lawyers, before it went to air. 
 
 The DJs pulled out of a third interview they were scheduled to do for The Project, on the Ten network, because they were unwell, according to a spokesman for the TV channel. 
 
 The host of the Nine programme, Tracey Grimshaw, earlier tweeted that the interview had not been paid for. It was "neither asked nor offered", she said. 
 
 Grimshaw told Fairfax Media the prerecorded interview was "very intense" with a lot of people in the room including radio station staff and supporters. She said she felt sympathy for the DJs. 
 
 "They're at a certain point on the food chain. There are other people who made the decision to put it to air. It wasn't live to air. There was a decision made after that prank call was recorded to put it to air, and virtually all the focus has been on them," Grimshaw said. 
 
 Rhys Holleran, CEO of Southern Cross Austereo, which owns 2Day FM, said the station attempted to contact King Edward VII hospital "no less than five times" before broadcasting the pre-recorded material. 
 
 "It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people on multiple occasions," Holleran told Fairfax Media. "We rang them to discuss what we had recorded," he said, adding that this was done before the recorded prank went to air. "Absolutely. We attempted to contact them on no less than five occasions. We wanted to speak to them about it." 
 
 Holleran reiterated that he was "deeply saddened" by the tragic events that had unfolded since the call but again said no one could have reasonably foreseen the circumstances. He said the station was happy to co-operate with any investigation into the incident. 
 
 In a statement, the radio station's owner, Southern Cross Austero Media, said it had suspended advertising on 2Day FM until further notice, ended Greig and Christian's Hot 30 show and suspended prank calls across the company. 
 
 "The company does not consider that the broadcast of the segment has breached any relevant law, regulation or code. The company will fully co-operate with any investigations," the statement said. 
 
 The industry-drawn-up Commercial Radio Codes of Practice and Guidelines state that a station must not broadcast the words of an identifiable person unless they have been informed in advance that the recording may go to air. If someone is unaware they are being recorded, the interviewee must grant consent for it to be played, prior to anything being broadcast. 
 
 This is not the first time the radio station 2Day FM has been in trouble. It has had two licence conditions imposed on it in the past three years by the statutory regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). 
 
 The first followed an on-air incident in 2009 in which a 14-year-old girl was strapped to a lie detector, and was questioned by her mother about whether she was sexually active. The mother volunteered to quiz her daughter despite apparently already knowing she had been sexually assaulted. 
 
 When she said that she had been raped at age 12, 2Day FM's 'shock jock', Kyle Sandilands, who presented the show with DJ Jackie O'Neil, then asked: "Right, and is that the only sexual experience you've had?" The interview ended after O'Neil stepped in and she and Sandilands apologised. 
 
 ACMA found that the station had breached standards of decency and ordered the it to implement staff training programmes. 
 
 In 2012 another licence condition was imposed after Sandilands insulted a female journalist for reporting the low ratings of a TV show that he and O'Neil had presented. 
 
 "Some fat slag on [the media website] news.com.au has already branded it a disaster," he said. "You can tell by reading the article that she just hates us and has always hated us. What a fat, bitter thing you are. You're deputy editor of an online thing. You've got a nothing job anyway. You're a piece of shit." 
 
 ACMA made the Code's decency requirement (which says "programme content must not offend generally accepted standards of decency") a condition of the 2Day FM's licence for a period of five years 
 
 Shares in Southern Cross Austereo fell 7.7% in early trading on the Australian stock market before recovering slightly. 
 
 • For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 ||||| Tearful radio hosts say sorry to nurse's family in UK 
 
 SYDNEY — The Australian radio hosts who made a prank call to a London hospital treating Prince William's wife Kate tearfully told of their heartbreak Monday at hearing that a nurse had been found dead. 
 
 Mel Greig and Michael Christian from Sydney station 2Day FM have been in hiding and undergoing counselling since their hoax sparked global outrage following the apparent suicide of Jacintha Saldanha. 
 
 In interviews on Australian television, the pair broke their silence following Saldanha's death last week in London, as 2Day FM's owner said it was cancelling their show and stopping all hoax calls by its broadcasters. 
 
 An emotional Greig said she was devastated on hearing the Indian-born nurse had died. 
 
 "Unfortunately I remember that moment very well because I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened," she told Australia's Seven Network. 
 
 "And I remember my first question was, was she a mother?" 
 
 In a separate interview with the Nine Network, Greig added: "It came into my head that I just wanted to reach out to them (the family), give them a big hug and say sorry. I hope they're okay, I really do." 
 
 The call, with Greig and Christian posing as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, was taken by mother-of-two Saldanha, 46, at London's King Edward VII Hospital. 
 
 With no receptionist on duty in the early morning, she put them through to a colleague who divulged details of the pregnant Kate's recovery from severe morning sickness. 
 
 Saldanha was subsequently found dead, although British police have refused to confirm whether it was suicide pending an inquest. 
 
 Christian said he too was devastated. 
 
 "Shattered, gutted, heartbroken and obviously you know... our deepest sympathies are with the family and the friends," he told Nine. 
 
 He added that it was supposed to be "just a simple, harmless, fun call". 
 
 "Prank calls are made every day... no one could have imagined this to happen," he said. 
 
 "We just hope that her family and friends are as good as they can be and that they are getting the love and support they deserve." 
 
 The death sparked an outpouring of fury against the radio station and the presenters, although the broadcaster Monday said no one could have foreseen the tragic consequences of what the hospital says was an "appalling" stunt. 
 
 Rhys Holleran, chief executive of Southern Cross Austereo, which owns 2Day FM, said the station called the hospital five times to discuss what it had recorded before going to air. 
 
 He said he was satisfied that the appropriate checks were conducted before the pre-recorded segment was broadcast. 
 
 "We attempted to contact them on no less than five occasions," Holleran told Fairfax radio. "We wanted to speak to them about it." 
 
 Holleran did not say whether the broadcaster received any response. The stunt was vetted by lawyers before being aired in Sydney last week, according to the station. 
 
 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." 
 
 In a statement to the stock exchange, Southern Cross, which has media interests throughout Australia, said that it had decided to halt all prank calls by its broadcasters. 
 
 It also axed the show Greig and Christian presented, Hot 30, and suspended all 2Day FM advertising until further notice. 
 
 The case has triggered demands for tougher regulation of the electronic media although Australia's press regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, has not commented on whether the station broke any rules. 
 
 Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the ACMA was considering whether to initiate an inquiry beyond its usual process of giving broadcasters 60 days to respond to complaints. 
 
 Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved. More » ||||| The Australian radio station behind a hoax phone call to the London hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was being treated could face criminal charges for airing the conversation, legal experts said Tuesday. 
 
 FILE- In this Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 file photo, Britain's Prince William stand next to his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge as she leaves the King Edward VII hospital in central London. Prince William... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image made off video footage recorded Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 and aired later in the day in "A Current Affair" program by Australia's Channel Nine, Australian radio DJs Michael Christian, left,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image made off video footage recorded Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 and aired later in the day in "A Current Affair" program by Australia's Channel Nine, Australian radio DJs Michael Christian, left,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Husband of the late nurse Jacintha Saldanha, Benedict Barboza arrives at the Houses of Parliament in central London with daughter Lisha, 14, and son Junal, 16, for a meeting with a British Member of Parliament... (Associated Press) 
 
 Members of the media opposite the entrance to the King Edward VII hospital in central London, Friday, Dec. 7, 2012. King Edward VII hospital says a nurse involved in a prank telephone call to elicit information... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this undated handout photo of the late nurse Jacintha Saldanha of King Edward VII hospital, provided by Saldanha's family in Shirva north of Mangalore, India after Saldanha was found dead in central... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image made off video footage recorded Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 and aired later in the day in "A Current Affair" program by Australia's Channel Nine, Australian radio DJs Michael Christian, left,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image made off video footage recorded Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 and aired later in the day in "A Current Affair" program by Australia's Channel Nine, Australian radio DJs Michael Christian, left,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Last week's prank was widely condemned days after it aired, after the still-unexplained death of a nurse who answered the phone and helped two DJs get confidential information about the former Kate Middleton's health. But when it comes to a potential criminal case, the question is not about the death; it's whether a private conversation was broadcast without the permission of the participants. 
 
 Violators could be sentenced to prison, but it's unclear who at radio station 2DayFM or its parent company, Southern Cross Austereo, made the decision to air the call. The DJs have said executives above them made the decision, but a former 2DayFM host who orchestrated many pranks for the station said DJs were always involved in such decisions while she was there. 
 
 Southern Cross Austereo has said the station had tried five times to contact the hospital, but privacy law expert Barbara McDonald said that could prove to be an inadequate defense. 
 
 "Seems to me that saying, `We tried to call,' shows that they knew they should, and they've made a decision to go ahead knowing that they have not got permission," said McDonald, a law professor at the University of Sydney. "I don't know whether it makes the situation better, or worse." 
 
 The New South Wales state Surveillance Devices Act prohibits the broadcast of recorded private conversations without participants' permission, with violations punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to 55,000 Australian dollars ($58,000). 
 
 McDonald said the Commercial Radio Code of Practice has a similar ban, but she added that even if Australia's media watchdog found violations, the most extreme punishment _ loss of license _ is almost unheard of. 
 
 Australian authorities have said little about any possible investigation. State police have said only that they've been in contact with their London counterparts and are ready to assist them in any British investigation. 
 
 Radio hosts Mel Greig and Michael Christian called London's King Edward VII Hospital last week. Pretending to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, they asked for word on the Duchess of Cambridge, who had been suffering from severe morning sickness. Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who answered the phone, put them through to the ward, and the duo received confidential information on the duchess' condition that was later aired. 
 
 The radio station trumpeted the prank call until Friday, when Saldanha was found dead. Police have not disclosed the cause of Saldanha's death, but many have assumed it was related to the stress from the call. An autopsy was to be held Tuesday. 
 
 Grieg and Christian tearfully apologized for the prank in televised interviews Monday, after days of condemnation in countless Internet posts around the world. 
 
 Southern Cross Austereo also has apologized, and stopped running any advertising on 2DayFM following Saldanha's death. On Tuesday it issued a statement announcing that ads would resume Thursday, with all profits for the rest of December to be donated to "an appropriate fund that will directly benefit" Saldanha's family. The company said it would donate at least 500,000 Australian dollars ($525,000). 
 
 Austereo has repeatedly insisted that it followed the law. The company said in a statement Monday that the segment underwent an internal legal review before it was broadcast. 
 
 The company "does not consider that the broadcast of the segment has breached any relevant law, regulation or code," Austereo said, adding it would cooperate with any investigation. 
 
 On Monday, Austereo CEO Rhys Holleran said 2DayFM had tried five times, without success, to contact the London hospital to discuss the prank before it aired. The King Edward VII Hospital denied its management had been contacted by 2DayFM. 
 
 Media law expert Mark Pearson said that even if the station had tried to contact the hospital, that isn't enough under the law. He said permission must be granted by the person involved. 
 
 If the case went to court, it is possible that a judge could decide that an attempt at getting permission was sufficient, but only if the lawyers could prove that any "reasonable person" would agree that enough was done, said Pearson, a journalism professor at Bond University in Queensland state. He considered such a ruling to be a longshot. 
 
 "I think lawyers would be hard-pressed to argue that a few unprovable phone calls was enough to show that there had been a reasonable attempt to get permission," he said. 
 
 The case also could be investigated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the country's media watchdog. McDonald, the University of Sydney professor, said that stations found in violation generally are given warnings or told to train staff in proper procedures. 
 
 The authority has said it has received complaints about the hoax call and is looking into the case, but has not yet launched an official investigation. 
 
 Greig and Christian's comments Monday about higher-ups making the decision to air the call only raised more questions for Wendy Harmer, who hosted a morning show at 2DayFM from 1993 until resigning in late 2003. 
 
 Harmer said that when she was a DJ, she played an integral role in those decisions, and personally approved the many on-air pranks that she was responsible for. 
 
 The program producer, program manager and station manager needed to approve segments as well, Harmer said. She added that some segments were brought even higher to the group station manager for approval. 
 
 "If you're a DJ, and you're in front of the microphone, this is a very powerful medium and you should be absolutely apprised of all your responsibilities and all the rights of the audience," Harmer said. "And so to hear a couple of DJs who didn't seem to understand what those were was, I must say, alarming." 
 
 She added the company's statements that it had sought permission five times, and that the hoax call underwent legal review, are signals that the company knew "there's something big going down." 
 
 "I would say, `If we have to bring the lawyers in, I'm not going to do it.' But I can say that with hindsight," she said.
– Australian DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig have broken their silence on their royal prank call gone horribly wrong, reports the Guardian, tearfully telling an interviewer that they're "shattered, gutted, heartbroken" over the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha. "No one could've imagined this to happen," Christian said. "Naturally, we're shattered. We're people, too." "There's not a minute that goes by that I don't think about what (Saldanha's) family is going through, and the thought that we may have contributed to it is gut-wrenching," says Greig. The DJs meant no harm, adds Christian: "At every single point it was innocent on our behalf." Innocent or not, Greig and Christian "will not return to the airwaves until further notice," says parent company Southern Cross Austereo, which has also axed their show, halted all prank calls, and nixed ads amid an internal review, CNN reports. But the station is doubling down on its decision to air the prank, saying that it had tried to contact King Edward VII's Hospital no fewer than five times to talk about the recording before airing it. "It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people on multiple occasions," says Southern Cross' CEO. It's not clear if the hospital responded, notes the AFP, but it has mounted a withering assault against the station in the aftermath of Saldanha's death.