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Triple J (JJJ) is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station (a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), mainly aimed at youth (defined as those between 12 and 25). Music played on the station is generally more alternative that commercial stations, with a heavy emphasis on Australian music and live music.
Triple J originally commenced operation in Sydney as 2JJ or Double Jay. It is a legacy of the progressive media policies of the Whitlam Labor government of 1972-75. The station and many of its announcers appear to be significantly more left-wing than the usually conservative major political parties.
Double Jay was initially intended as the first link in a new national "youth network". However, this expansion was long delayed by the electoral defeat of the Gough Whitlam Labor government at the end of 1975 and by budget cuts imposed by the incoming Liberal government led by Malcolm Fraser.
2JJ commenced broadcasting on 19 January 1975, at 1540 kHz on the AM band. The station was largely restricted to the greater Sydney region, and its local reception was hampered by inadequate transmitter facilities. It was later relayed to other stations in the ABC network after midnight, when their regular programming ceased, but it could also be heard in outlying areas of coastal New South Wales after dark, thanks to the "ionospheric skip" effect.
2JJ was often embroiled in controversy, which began with the choice of the first song played on air on the first broadcast day -- You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good In Bed by Skyhooks, one of six tracks from their debut LP which had been banned by Australian commercial radio stations. The establishment of Double Jay marked an historic change in Australian radio -- it was Australia's first non-commercial 24-hour rock music station, one of the first rock stations in the world to hire female disc jockeys and it was granted the first new radio licence issued in any Australian capital city since 1932.
On 1 August 1980 2JJ moved to an FM frequency of 105.7 mHz (again restricted within the greater Sydney region) and became 2JJJ, or Triple J. circa 1990 commercial radio manager and program director Barry Chapman (ex-2SM Sydney) was appointed as general manager to oversee Triple J's network expansion. It was not until the late 1980s that the ABC was finally able to begin to development of the long-delayed national "youth network" and in 1989 JJJ expanded nationally to Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Newcastle, and Canberra.
Throughout the 1990s, Triple J commenced expansion to more regional areas of Australia. In 1994 it was extended to another 18 regional centres throughout the country. In 1996, the total was brought to 44, with the new additions including Launceston (Tas), Albany (WA), Bathurst (NSW) and Mackay (Qld).
In May 2003, Arnold Frolows, the only remaining link with the original Double Jay staff of 1975, stepped down after 28 years as Triple J music director.
The Double Jay / Triple J programming policies were in many ways a radical departure from the narrow, formats and restrictive playlists then in place in commercial rock stations. Originally influenced by British pirate radio, early BBC2 rock programs such as John Peel's The Perfumed Garden and the American Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format, Double Jay featured unprecedented levels of Australian content, favoured long album cuts and played many tracks banned by other stations, championed many styles of local and overseas music that were being excluded from commercial pop playlists (including reggae, punk rock, electronic and New Wave music), and (following the trend set by the BBC) mixed its recorded music programming with an innovative blend of regular weekly live-to-air studio concert broadcasts. It also broadcast original comedy sketches and serials, groundbreaking audio documentaries, radiophonic works and in the early years of the station it regularly ran hilarious "anti-ads" which parodied its commercial competitors.
The station also regularly sponsored live concerts and organised a number of major outdoor concert events in the late Seventies, culminating in a huge outdoor all-day event in Parramatta Park in 1980, to celebrate the end of Double Jay and the start of Triple J and headlined by Midnight Oil.
As well as general pop music broadcasts (with a strong bias towards new music, Australian performers, and against bubblegum pop), it has nightly specialist programs in different musical genres (see the programmes section below). It also covers news and current affairs from a youth-oriented perspective,a although this facet of their programming has been considerably reduced since the station's inception.
The broadcaster retains a somewhat anarchistic air, and in its earlier days there were certainly times when anything could happen (and often did). One infamous event in the late 1970s was an on-air launch party hosted by George Wayne to celebrate the release of the new AC/DC album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap , which got so out of hand that police were eventually called to the studio.
Presenters originally were originally given almost total freedom in choosing the music they played, and few restrictions were placed on music, lyrics or topics discussed on programs. In the days of Double Jay, the station was run co-operatively and all staff (including office staff) were given a say in programming decisions. This somewhat anarchistic approach was gradually replaced by a more business-like style and after the controversial appointment of Barry Chapman, many of the 'old guard' were dismissed from the station and replaced by presenters who were more amenable to the increasingly structured format.
Although the station still promotes itself as being 'free and easy' and it remains far more open to new music than any of the commmercial stations, there is in fact a high degree of programming in the stations music, and although presenters retain a degree of autonomy, most of the music played on air is part of a carefully structured playlist that presenters are obliged to adhere to.
The evolution of Triple J's programming has always been contentious. In the Double Jay days, commercial stations and conservative types regularly cried foul over the station's free use of expletives on air and its ability to ignore the self-imposed censorship restrictions that were in force on commercial radio -- a situation that stemmed from Double Jay's status as a special unit of the ABC, which at that time was only answerable to the ABC Board and the Minister for Communications, unlike the commercial stations, which were subject to regulation by the old Broadcasting Control Board.
Over the years the station has gained considerable renown for breaking many new local acts -- Midnight Oil are probably the prime example of this, and would almost certainly not have had anything like the success they have enjoyed without the help of Double Jay/Triple J. The station also broke countless overseas acts that were being ignored even in their home countries. Double Jay was virtually the only station in Australia in the late Seventies that would play reggae, punk rock and New Wave music, and it is indisputable that scores of bands in these genres owe their Australian success to the support of the Jays.
The station also exerted a noticeable effect on local record companies. For many years, local record labels would only import recordings that they knew would get a good commercial return and they were often unwilling to take risks on local releases of unknown acts. Much new music was routinely only available as expensive imports in specialist shops. This began to change around 1976 after Double Jay championed a new album, 801 Live, recorded by a one-off group that included former Roxy Music members Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno. Although the LP was hailed overseas as one of the best live recordings ever made and set new standards of technical excellence, the Australian distributor refused to release it locally, in spite of the fact that it was one of the most requested items on the Double Jay playlist at the time. As a result of the remarkable import sales that Double Jay generated -- it became the highest selling import album that year -- the company was effectively forced into releasing it locally.
Over the years the station moved away from its early style, which featured a high level of news, talk, features, documentaries, current affairs and comedy, and was gradually steered towards a non-commercial version of the continuous music format that prevailed in comercial radio. But Triple J continued to pioneer new music and developed a wide range of special interest programs including the Japanese pop show Nippi Rock Shop, Arnold Frolows' weekly late-night ambient music show Ambience and Jaslyn Hall's world music show (the first of its kind in Australian mainstream radio).
During the late 1980s and 1990s Triple J came under increasing criticism for its program direction and it has been accused of ignoring many important new developments in favour of a more structured rock-oriented playlist that, in the view of some critics, has become a sort of "Indie Top 40". Long serving former program director Arnold Frolows was also regularly criticised, and there was certainly some irony in the fact that the self-proclaimed "youth network", which was aimed at the 16-25 age group, was by the late 1990s still being programmed by a man in his late 40s.
In the late 1980s Triple J was (with some justification) accused of ignoring the emerging hip-hop scene and related genres, in favour of the more marketable rock-oriented grunge style that dominated American music at the same time.
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Triple J routinely championed many local and overseas acts -- e.g. Midnight Oil, The Models, Paul Kelly, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Pixies, Ben Folds Five and hundreds more -- whose music would never have been played on Australian commercial radio. As with the ABC's long-running pop TV show Countdown, the support of Triple J in Australia also had a strong effect on the success of emerging overseas acts.
A classic case in point is American group The B-52s and it is believed that Double Jay was the first radio station in the world to play their debut single Rock Lobster. The support of the Jays had a significant effect on the worldwide success of many acts including Blondie, Devo and more recently Ben Folds Five and especially Ben Harper, whose popularity in Australia -- which was entirely the result of support from Triple J -- was instrumental in breaking him back in his home country, the United States.
It is also notable that Triple J was for many years routinely used as a free market research facility by commercial stations. As mainstream pop radio struggled to establish itself on the FM band, commercial stations like Triple M constantly monitored what songs and acts were doing especially well on Triple J and would then introduce the most 'saleable' of them into their own playlists. The huge commercial success of acts like The Police and Nirvana in Australia unquestionably stemmed directly from the support of Triple J.
Triple J programming schedule includes some shows featuring many specialty genres:
The weekly J-Files show has had two incarnations over the years. From 1996 to 2003, it was a three hour late weeknight show hosted by Richard Kingsmill. Each show would be topical; it may feature an artist, a particular year in the past, or songs with a certain theme. Examples of themed shows include #9 songs (which was the theme on 9 September 1999's show), cats & dogs, New Zealand bands, or banned songs.
Today, the J-Files is a one hour Saturday afternoon show, hosted by various Triple J presenters. Generally it is pre-recorded, and only artists are featured.
Main article: Live at the Wireless
Live at the Wireless is a long standing tradition of Triple J. It is a weekly broadcast of live music, of a number of forms - open air festivals, smaller concerts, or acoustic performances in the studio. Occasionally, Triple J will host a live performance in a secret location, and give away tickets to a limited number of listeners, to allow them to be a part of the special event.
Up until 2002, the Australian Music Show was Triple J's all-Australian music segment, broadcast as a three hour late weeknight show (10pm to 1am) and hosted by Richard Kingsmill. Starting in 2003, the format changed to a two-hour show every weeknight (9pm to 11pm, shortening Super Request and the late night specialty shows by an hour each) and Robbie Buck became the presenter. It proved to be one of Triple J's most popular changes, as the audience (and the station itself) has traditionally been very supportive of local talent and unsigned bands.
Triple J has their own independent news team, specifically covering news and issues that are relevant to the youth of Australia, such as education, the environment, as well as general music news.
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Current news staff:
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Hack is Triple J's half-hour news and current affairs show, broadcast from 5.30pm weeknights. It is hosted by former Morning Show (Triple J's current affairs outlet in the past) host and reporter Steve Cannane. Controversial topics are often discussed on the show, which is typically against globalisation, human rights abuses, commercial media, and, daringly, the source of Triple J's funds - the current conservative Australian government.
The Breakfast Show is one of the stations flagship shows. Since 1999, it has been co-hosted by Adam Spencer & Wil Anderson. The pair are known for their unusual sense of humour, highlighted by the usual regular segments, which include Mary from Junee, Essense of Steve and Are you smarter than Dools?.
Main article: This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life (TSL) is a parody of sporting panel programs, created and hosted by actor-writer-comedians John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver (under the name Roy & HG). As well as sport, the duo cast a wide comedic net that encompasses the world of entertainment, politics and celebrity in general. TSL is remarkable as one of the few successful comedy programs that is substantially improvised. As the longest-running show in Triple J's programming history, it still commands a large and dedicated nationwide audience.
Main article: Restoring the Balance
Restoring the Balance was broadcast sporadically on Sunday afternoons during 2004. The primary concept behind the show is a satire of the contrasting political views between the conservative Australian Howard government, and the majority of the Left wing government-funded Triple J radio station. The show suggests that the station was forced to broadcast a segment of right wing political views in order to restore the balance.
Main article: Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual poll of the most popular songs amongst its listeners. It has been conducted for almost a decade in its present form, and attracts nearly 200,000 votes - one of the largest music polls in the world. It has also spawned a series of best-selling compilation CDs, and more recently, music DVDs.
The countdown of the top 100 songs on Australia Day weekend, usually accompanied by a barbeque, has become an annual summer ritual for Triple J fans around Australia and around the world.
Main article: Unearthed
Unearthed, an ongoing project to find hidden talent, began in 1995. It originally focused on regional areas but now covers all areas of Australia. Many of these discoveries have been very successful -- some have even been successful enough to receive commercial radio airplay, such as Grinspoon, Killing Heidi and Missy Higgins.
The creation of the Unearthed competition has been linked to Triple J's discovery of a teenage trio from Newcastle, Innocent Criminals. Thanks largely to Triple J, the band -- who were subsequently renamed silverchair -- went on to become one of the most successful acts in the history of Australian music.
Triple J occasionally runs a competition known as 'Beat the Drum' - named for their logo of three drumsticks hitting a drum. It is competition designed to promote the logo whereby whoever displayed it in the most prominent place would win a prize. Notable entries include
In late 2004, the station's promotion for that year's Beat The Drum contest caused a brief but bitter controversy after it released a series of promotional images featuring the 'Drum' logo. Many were outraged by the ill-advised inclusion of a mocked-up image of the former World Trade Centre draped with a huge Drum flag.
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