Hobart radio announcer suspended over Dreamworld death joke
Hobart’s 7HOFM has apologised and suspended a radio announcer who made a joke about the deaths of four people on the Dreamworld Thunder Rapids Ride during the breakfast show’s Secret Sound segment yesterday.
Playing a mystery mechanical sound, Anna Dare, one-half of the station’s breakfast duo alongside Mick Newell, commented: “It’s not getting stuck in a conveyor belt at a theme park is it? Too soon?”
To the sound of a gasp from her co-host Dare quickly added: “That’s what it sounds like to me! When I first heard it, that’s the first thing I thought of, I don’t like it, it’s a yucky sound. It’s $140 bucks worth if you can guess it.”
Grant Broadcasters, parent company of the station, has apologised for the gaffe, suspending Dare from her on-air role until further notice.
An apology has been posted to the 7OHFM website.
Grant Cameron, CEO of Grant Broadcasters, said: “The announcer’s remark demonstrated a serious lapse in judgement and we sincerely apologise to our listeners, the broader community and everyone affected by this week’s terrible tragedy.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives.
This was a dreadful mistake and the announcer is devastated at such a lapse. As employers, we must also consider her well-being.
“We have dealt with this unfortunate incident as swiftly as possible and will use it to further improve our standards and the training of our on-air staff.”
The on-air comments followed on from the deaths of Kate Goodchild, 32, Luke Dorsett, 35, Roozbeh Araghi, 38 and Cindy Low 42, on the Dreamworld Thunder River Rapids ride on Tuesday.
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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seriously? wow. yeah – that’s not cool at all. I’m all for a crude joke, but this is totally uncalled for.
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She made a huge mistake. Very well handled by the station. Bring her back on air in a week. Respect paid. Lessons learned.
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She should have been fired. No excuses.
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