"The King Edward VII hospital prank is not funny. It wasn't funny when it was played. Not for some hand-wringing sense of righteous judgment, but simply because one of its targets - a mother to be whose pregnancy was causing so much discomfort that she had to be hospitalised - was so vulnerable, and its effect - to have details of her medical condition broadcast on radio - was an appalling breach of privacy. What holds a civilised society together is an understanding of action and consequence, a duty of care to each other that allows some elasticity for fair mischief and good humour, but does not contravene a handful of basic tenets: humanity, dignity, compassion, respect. There is a lesson in all of this. Commercial radio, and perhaps the media at large, would do well to learn it."
