Royal hoax call DJ Mel Greig back in work as she calls for ‘new mindset’ for radio
One of the DJs at the centre of the royal hoax call, Mel Greig, has finally found work as she admitted it was “hard not to get bitter” at seeing other individuals involved in the prank remain in radio and in some cases handed promotions.
Greig revealed yesterday at the Mumbrella360 conference that she has accepted the job of content marketing manager at advertising agency Kingdom Advertising in Adelaide.
She said she will be “forever grateful” to Kingdom for giving her the opportunity to re-enter the workplace after being constantly rejected as she sought re-employment.
Greig partly blamed the stigma attached to her role in the prank, which led to the suicide of nurse Jacintha Saldanha who transferred the call, for her inability to land a job.
Grieg and fellow 2DayFM presenter Michael Christian pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles and spoke to Saldanha who put their call through to the ward where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for morning sickness.
Speaking at a session titled ‘winning is losing’ which explored how individuals and companies can learn from their mistakes, Greig explained how she “fought for her life” after sinking into depression following Saldanha’s death just a few days after the call, which made headlines around the world.
Responding to questions from Mumbrella on the sidelines of the conference, Greig said she had recently lost her ambition to work in radio, partly a result of the way other people involved in the hoax call have progressed in their career.
Asked what happened to other off-air members of the team Greig said: “I believe out of the team directly involved, they’ve all now been promoted either at Southern Cross Austereo or at another company.
“We all handle things differently and I was greatly affected. It is very hard not to get bitter but I can’t worry about everyone else, I just need to worry about what I can control and to keep moving forward.
“But for that reason, and a range of other things currently going on in the radio industry, it’s now not a place that I want to return to at the moment, and I hate feeling that way because I love radio.”
Greig was also asked what punishment she thought should be handed to 2DayFM by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
“Having just mentioned that half the team have moved on to new companies, I think it’s important to consider the individuals involved and asses if further training needs to be administered,” the former DJ said.
“I don’t think placing a huge punishment on 2DayFM as a whole will necessarily assure that the same mistakes aren’t repeated. I know as an individual I have learnt a lot and have spent a lot of time analysing what went wrong. And that’s what we need to do, learn from mistakes.
“This is bigger than slapping a station with a suspension, we need a change of mindset in the industry and we need to realise that we don’t need to be careless to create great content.”
The comments came after Greig spoke of her spiralling depression in the 18 months that followed Saldanha’s suicide in early December 2012.
“Our integrity failed, common sense failed, process failed and that call was aired,” she told delegates at the conference.
“It failed a family, it failed everyone,” she added, before describing how she sunk into a deep depression and “fought for my life for a year and a half”.
“It was very scary and I got help,” Greig said. “A lot of people said ‘what about your career’ but I didn’t give a rat’s arse about my career at that stage.”
Greig revealed that when she started applying for jobs again – initially in radio and media – she was essentially black-balled.
“I was told no over about 100 times and no is a word I never want to hear again,” she said. “But yesterday I had a yes from Kingdom advertising agency.
“I am so thrilled to be able to work again. I am going to be content marketing manager so all of the skills I have learned in radio over the past 15 years can go into driving online content for this agency and their clients.”
Steve Jones
Brave girl – well done
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A very thoughtful response to an incredibly difficult situation.
To quote (of all things) Friday Night Lights, “there’s no weakness in forgiveness.”
Best of luck, Mel.
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Why did the male presenter who was 50% as responsible as she was come off like Teflon?
a month after the prank, in June 2013, Southern Cross Austereo awarded Michael Christian the next Top Jock award.
According to his Linkedn page, he continued working right through steadily.
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Well done Mel, you have handled this awful situation with the sensitivity and severity it deserved. [Edited by Mumbrella]
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Austero and the media owe Mel a HUGE apology.
They owed her support and help which it seems they never gave her.
Absolutely disgusting that Mel was vilified the way she was.
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Just because the other people involved in the prank didn’t seek media attention like Mel, doesn’t mean they were grieving/hurting/feeling the effects of it.
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Mel was the scapegoat for the radio industry’s rampant misogynistic bias.
Go girl ! And congrats Mumbrella for not being part of the “rat pack” and key noting Mel on your 360 !
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be very careful of ill informed comments re this situation people. you have no idea of the back end machinations at play here.
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#3 Tamsin:
Chalk it up to as much sexism as you like, but Michael Christian didn’t blink, that’s why. He kept his head down during the flamewar, possibly remembering (as Don Draper once said to Peggy Olson) “This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.” Nobody has a long memory any more, they forget stuff unless you keep bringing it up.
Like Mel Greig insists on doing. If she wants the prank to be her personal brand forever, she’s certainly going about it the right way. But don’t blame Michael or sexism in general for leaving it all behind and refusing to engage in constant public self-flagellation for the last two years.
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Well said Jake.
People deal with tragic and difficult situations in their own way. Both Michael and Mel have both handled themselves tremendously well, despite taking very different approaches to dealing with the tragic circumstances.
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Just wondering why Mel is continually going to the press and marketing herself this way?
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it comes down to this – but for Today FM’s unlawful actions, Jacintha Saldanha would be alive today.
Today FM’s actions in this matter give meaning to the corporate psyche of ‘profits should be pursued at *any* cost’.
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Has Mel been seeking the attention or has the media branded her? I believe her only ‘mistake’ was showing genuine remorse right from the outset! That has made her a target & I bet EVERY interviewer she has faced since then has asked the same questions! Mel works in media so of COURSE she’s in the media eye.. Some, it seems, would prefer she just disappear like a good little woman.. That’s not who Mel is!!
Good on you babe, for regaining your self esteem! You have worked damn hard to get back that pride in yourself & you deserve so much goodness! Don’t ever let anything bring you down, keep your chin up and head high! You’re an inspiration!! <3
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If anyone actually believes that the others involved this situation haven’t been affected by it, you are very very poorly informed. This issue has affected far more people than those responsible for making the call or putting it to air.
People have the right to continue their careers and be rewarded for their efforts along the way.
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As someone who was there at the time I can tell you that both Mel & MC were offered significant amounts of support long after the story stopped appearing in the headlines.
Tamsin – MC didn’t come off like Teflon its more that he decided to play things more low key and deal with the issues himself rather than jump at every media opportunity that was available to him at the time.
It was obviously incredibly difficult for all involved but if Mel denies that she was given other employment opportunities within SCA on at least 4 different occasions then she is a flat out liar.
Steve is right – people have the right to continue their careers and if they are good enough, be promoted or receive recognition.
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