Abstract
This article focuses on the problematic consequences of shifting boundaries of converged radio practices for individual privacies. Holding that privacy is constructed through the interrelated information practices of both individuals and their mediated surroundings, it addresses radio as a previously intimate and privacy friendly medium. The case of the <em>Royal Prank </em>call by the Australian 2DayFM radio station demonstrates how contemporary converged radio practices affect the privacies of unintended participants in their shows. In December 2012, Jacintha Saldanha, nurse of London’s Royal King Edward VII Hospital committed suicide after two Australian radio presenters had made a prank phone call pretending to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles concerned about the state of Duchess Kate’s health, who was expecting her first child. The case identifies three conditions, each with implications on privacy. First, digitization renders radio content archivable and repeatable. There is a second life of radio programs keeping available information about any people involved. Secondly, the division of radio related labour leads to a lack of journalistic responsibility for respecting privacy standards. Broadcasters feel no need to be sensitive regarding the consequences of disseminated material, as commercial and legal staff decide on that. Finally, legal frameworks continue to apply legacy radio privacy measures and do not correspond to these new working conditions, as the reactions of the Australian supervisory authority show. In consequence, the case of the <em>Royal Prank </em>call demonstrates the impossibility to fight individual privacy when one is unintentionally involved in radio shows.
Highlights
Issue This article is part of the issue “The Politics of Privacy: Communication and Media Perspectives in Privacy Research” edited by Johanna E
The case study chosen in this article points to the impact of radio convergence on the perception of individual privacy
“More than seven hours after Saldanha’s death, 2DayFM’s website was still plugging its royal scoop” (Rayner, 2012). It was only Jacintha Saldanha’s suicide and her farewell letter in which she blamed the presenters and demanded: “make them pay for my mortgage” (Smyth, 2013) that started the discussion about the legal context of the Royal Prank
Summary
The convergence of radio with other digital media was a revolutionary process that evoked substantial changes in radio production. The media convergence (Jenkins, 2008) turned out to be a real revolution for the radio. It changed the way of radio communication and brought the radio onto the path of online technology. Many studies have invoked this convergence concept, as they have analysed changes in news production practices within media organisations of which they are “seeking to distribute across different media platforms” There is sort of ‘grey area,’ where the privacy of some actors is not properly protected They become the victims of ‘collateral damage,’ as a result of the game that the media industry plays with public figures and the audience.
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