The eighth floor

[James R]

Any previous Molyes compliants has nothing on this:

An Australian radio show has been pulled off air after a lie detector stunt saw a 14-year-old girl say she had been raped.

The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Sydney's 2Day FM was put "into recess" pending a review over the incident last week.

The move follows public outrage over the segment, which saw the girl quizzed about whether she was sexually active.

Host Kyle Sandilands has also been sacked from his role as a judge on Australian Idol over the row.

<!-- E SF -->The radio show saw the girl strapped to a polygraph machine as her mother - who had volunteered to be on air - quizzed her despite apparently knowing she had been assaulted when she was 12 years old.

Sandilands was accused of further insensitivity when after the confession he asked: "Right, and is that the only sexual experience you've had?"

Co-host Jackie O'Neil put an end to any further discussions when she realised the conversation had crossed a line.

Controversy

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd led the criticism against the radio show, saying: "This is a young girl and I am, as I think most Australians are, really distressed at the way in which the young person has been treated in this way."

Child welfare officers and police have now been ordered to investigate the teenager's claims.

The Ten Network, which produces Australian Idol, said Sandilands had been axed as it was concerned about the conflict between his TV and radio persona.

"It has become increasingly clear that as Idol has remained a family focused show, his radio persona has taken on a more controversial position," it said in a statement.

"The recent controversy surrounding Kyle's radio programme has highlighted more than ever the conflicting attitude of the two careers."

The Kyle and Jackie O Show is the highest-rating breakfast radio programme in Sydney.

A statement from 2Day FM said Sandilands was "unable to perform his on-air duties at this time", while the station is also reviewing its audience interaction policy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8181076.stm

[DarkAngelMJH]

Good god, that is taking it a bit too far!

[James R]

Good god, that is taking it a bit too far!

Definately. That article shows why the BBC are tough on rules

[DarkAngelMJH]

Definately. That article shows why the BBC are tough on rules

I honestly couldn't see anyone on the BBC actually continuing once something like that had been asked by the girls mother.

[James R]

I honestly couldn't see anyone on the BBC actually continuing once something like that had been asked by the girls mother.

Its australia Jeremy Kyle on radio :hahaha:

[DarkAngelMJH]

Its australia Jeremy Kyle on radio :hahaha:

Even Jeremy Kyle wouldn't do an interview like that with a kid.

[MissCorsham]

Ah yes I read about this, really puts Sachsgate into perspective, the poor girl.

[Robbie Keane]

Is the audio anywhere? I'd love to hear it.

[James R]

Is the audio anywhere? I'd love to hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLZzgbLCdFE

[Robbie Keane]

Christ, that was awkward listening. Can't really fault the station for that - plenty of shows have done lie detectors before and the segment was obviously meant to be relatively innocent. I'd lay blame with the mother because a) it was obviously her who brought her daughter onto the show to be a part of the segment, and she was the one pushing the issue of sex on live radio KNOWING that her daughter had been raped and felt uncomfortable and scared. A station taking advantage of that is one thing, but your own mother doing the same thing is just beyond retarded, especially as the mother was laughing as she asked the question. The male host didn't exactly help, but then he obviously never expected that answer and was thinking on his feet, and Jackie O did her best to save the situation.

I've heard worse on the radio, but I don't think the show should be punished for the mistake of a dipshit mother.

[MissCorsham]

Just listened. Ouch, I agree with you M1TCH3LL. The mother shouldn't have put her on the spot with that question knowing what had happened. The presenter really weren't trained to deal with that, obviously.

[E*F*4L]

the moms fault no question at all !

it wasn't the dj's fault either, it was the shows producers & researchers.

[JonathanEx]

I listened to the first minute of that, and there's a recap which the mother mentions the sort of thing she wants to ask about, and surely, SOMEONE in the production chain, including the presenters, should have thought "hang on a fucking second" before running with it. It's breakfast entertainment, not that bear baiting cock Jeremy Kyle - finding out if your daughter did drugs or had sex when out at a party after being brought home by police is not good radio, good to do in such a manner. It's a failure on all counts.

But the mom is at fault most of all.

[MissCorsham]

Well I assume was a feature where they chose people to come on it... therefore they'd already heard what the mother was planning to ask... maybe not

[JonathanEx]

Well, even in that clip (the recap played at 18 seconds in), they AIRED that the mother was planning on asking about sex and drugs at a party (though not specifically rape). That's a bad direction for a segment to go anyway. With the presenter ASKING about it and delving deeply!

What idiots decided that this was to be HILARIOUS? Let alone when she says she's scared, the female almost jokingly says it wouldn't be fair on any kid, but they go ahead with it?

Every member of the production team involved with the section shares some of the fault. My god, even with the school questions, it sounds painful to listen to. They could have pulled it before the sex question. A decent save attempt from the female presenter after, but that whole situation should never had happened.

The thing is, it sounds like a section where they'd pre-vet the questions. Or is this show such a god damn shambles that they didn't? They say they didn't, but this has all sorts of alarm bells ringing.

Edit: after reading Kyle's response to what happened, it's hard to pin down exactly what happened, why it went ahead, but there is a level of production fault here.

But as before, mother deserves a slap. More than any of the radio team.

[DaNNiP15]

That was horrible to listen to!

[Jono]

I only heard a short clip, but personally feel it's not what I had expected from reading the article. It seems like the male presenter hadn't really taken in what the kid had said, and it was the mother at fault. The female presenter should be applauded for quickly tackling things and putting her foot down.

[Jono]

Controversial radio DJs Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O'Neil have returned to the Australian airwaves three weeks after hosting an on-air lie detector stunt in which a teenage girl revealed she had been raped.

The country's media regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, has launched an investigation into the incident on Sydney radio station 2Day FM last month.

O'Neil and Sandilands resumed their breakfast show on Tuesday, telling listeners that "everyone on the show has learned from the mistake".

Sandilands, who was dumped as a judge on Australian Idol following a public backlash over the stunt, said: "What a few weeks we have had. It's pretty much obvious to everyone that the whole thing was a disaster from start to finish, a complete disaster."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/radio

[lareneg]

That whole segment was unfair for the child from the start, practically dragging her in, locking her into the lie detector and then putting her on live radio? And then being insensitive by saying stuff like "Ooh the child is scared".

Axing the show is far too hard on the two presenters. They knew that "have you had sex before" was going to be a question, as the mother said so before the segment, and that in itself should not have been on the air.

The fault lies almost entirely on the mother, knowing that her daughter getting raped and then asking that question? She seems an incredibly poor mother to me.

[sinister]

Funny as F****