Misplaced Pages

Triple J: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 09:19, 15 May 2004 editIanH (talk | contribs)13 edits Changed 'Albany, NSW' to 'Albury, NSW'.← Previous edit Revision as of 14:09, 15 May 2004 edit undoChuq (talk | contribs)Administrators20,773 edits sorry, i actually meant albany WA when I wrote that!Next edit →
Line 18: Line 18:
===1990s: regional expansion=== ===1990s: regional expansion===


Throughout the 1990s, and particularly the late 1990s, Triple J commenced expansion to more regional areas of Australia, and by ] encompassed 18 regional centres, and by approximately ] covered ], ], ] and ]. Throughout the 1990s, and particularly the late 1990s, Triple J commenced expansion to more regional areas of Australia, and by ] encompassed 18 regional centres, and by approximately ] covered ], ], ] and ].
In ], ] the only remaining link with the original Double Jay staff of 1975, stepped down after an extraordinary 18 years as Triple J music director. In ], ] the only remaining link with the original Double Jay staff of 1975, stepped down after an extraordinary 18 years as Triple J music director.


Revision as of 14:09, 15 May 2004

Triple J (JJJ) is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station (a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), aimed mainly at youth (defined as those between 12 and 25). Triple J originally commenced operation in Sydney as 2JJ or Double Jay.

Station history

Foundation and early years

2JJ commenced broadcasting on the 19 January 1975 in Sydney. The AM-band precursor to Triple J broadcast only 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 NSW after dark, thanks to the "ionospheric skip" effect.

Double Jay was initially intended as the first link in a new national "youth network", this expansion was long delayed by the electoral defeat of the Gough Whitlam Labor government at the end of 1975 and by budget cuts inposed by the incoming Liberal government led by Malcolm Fraser. The station was largely restricted to the Sydney area and the AM band for the next five years, although its influence gradually spread after it began to be relayed after midnight to other stations in the existing ABC network.

Universally known as "Double Jay", 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.

1980s: from 2JJJ to going national

On 1 August 1980 2JJ moved to an FM frequency and becomes 2JJJ, or Triple J and by 1988 leading 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

1990s: regional expansion

Throughout the 1990s, and particularly the late 1990s, Triple J commenced expansion to more regional areas of Australia, and by January 1995 encompassed 18 regional centres, and by approximately September 1995 covered Launceston, Tasmania, Albany, Western Australia, Bathurst and Mackay. In May 2003, Arnold Frolows the only remaining link with the original Double Jay staff of 1975, stepped down after an extraordinary 18 years as Triple J music director.

Programming

Its programming policies were in many ways a radical departure from the narrow, formats and restrictive playlists then in place in commercial rock stations. Influenced by British pirate radio and the American Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format, Double Jay featured unprecedented levels of Australian content, played long album cuts and many tracks banned by other stations, championed many styles of local and overseas music that were being exluded from commercial pop playlists (including reggae, punk rock, electronic and New Wave music), and it mixed its recorded music programming with an innovative blend of regular weekly live-to-air studio concert broadcasts, original comedy sketches and serials, groundbreaking audio documentaries and radiophonic works and hilarious "anti-ads" which parodied its commercial competitors.

As well as general pop music broadcasts (with a bias towards new music, Australian performers, and against bubblegum pop), it has nightly specialist programs in different musical genres including hip-hop, heavy metal and electronic dance music; more recently (mid-2003 to early 2004) they have also introduced roots/blues and punk shows. It also covers news and current affairs from a youth-oriented perspective.

The broadcaster retains somewhat of an anarchistic air, with presenters allowed to choose the music they play, and few restrictions on music lyrics or topics discussed on programs.

Promotions: "Hottest 100" and "Beat the Drum"

The network conducts an annual poll of the most popular songs amongst its listeners. The Triple J Hottest 100 has been conducted for almost a decade, and attracts nearly 200,000 votes - one of the biggest music polls in the world.

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 prominant place would win a prize. This culminated in the new logo being displayed behind the presentation of a gold medal to an Australia swimmer at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and one of the opening ceromony participants wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Presenters and programmes

Current presenters

Past presenters (since 1999)

Past presenters (pre 1999)

Presenters (before 1990)

See also

External links