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Triple J 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 than commercial stations with a heavy emphasis on Australian music and new music. In metropolitan rating surveys Triple J usually has less than one third the market share of its major commercial rivals, but its influence on Australian popular music belies the modest ratings, having provided a launchpad for numerous Australian recording artists and announcers.
first incarnation of what became Triple J was established in September 1974 as the AM-band radio station 2JJ or Double Jay.
Double Jay was a product of the progressive media policies of the Whitlam Labor government of 1972-75 and was one of a series of innovations that stemmed from the recommendations of the 1974 McLean Report.
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Encyclopedia
Triple J 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 than commercial stations with a heavy emphasis on Australian music and new music. In metropolitan rating surveys Triple J usually has less than one third the market share of its major commercial rivals, but its influence on Australian popular music belies the modest ratings, having provided a launchpad for numerous Australian recording artists and announcers.
Station history
Foundation and early years: Double Jay
The first incarnation of what became Triple J was established in September 1974 as the AM-band radio station 2JJ or Double Jay.
Double Jay was a product of the progressive media policies of the Whitlam Labor government of 1972-75 and was one of a series of innovations that stemmed from the recommendations of the 1974 McLean Report. These included the expansion of radio broadcasting onto the FM band, the issuing of a new class of broadcasting licences -- which finally permitted the establishment of community radio stations, the long-awaited third tier of the Australian radio industry -- and the creation of two new stations for the ABC: 2JJ in Sydney and the shortlived 3XX in Mellbourne.
By the time Double Jay went to air the Whitlam government was in its final months in office. On 11 November 1975 Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's commission was controversially revoked by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, sparking a double dissolution of parliament. In the subsequent federal election, Labor were defeated by the Liberal-National Party coalition, led by Malcolm Fraser. In the more conservative media climate that emerged in the Fraser years, Double Jay and some of its presenters and commentators were accused of left-wing bias.
2JJ was initially intended as the first link in a new national "youth network", although this expansion was long delayed by the electoral defeat of the Whitlam government at the end of 1975 and subsequent budget cuts imposed on the ABC by the incoming Fraser government. Its establishment 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, excluding the first experimental FM licences, was granted the first new radio licence issued in any Australian capital city since 1932.
2JJ commenced broadcasting on 19 January 1975, at 1539 kHz - (call sign 1540kHz in 1978) 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.
In its early years Double Jay's on-air staff were mainly recruited from either commercial radio or other ABC stations but in another first the roster also featured presenters who did not come from a radio industry background, including singer-songwriters Bob Hudson and John J. Francis and actor Lex Marinos.
The foundation staff of January 1975 were Marius Webb and Ron Moss (coordinators), Ros Cheney, David Ives, Sam Collins, Holger Brockman (aka Bill Drake), Caroline Pringle, Bob Hudson, Mike Parker, Iven Walker, Arnold Frolows, Di Auburn, Margot Edwards, George "Groover" Wayne, Graham Berry, John Arden, Colin Vercoe, Alan McGirvan, Pam Swain, Graham Bartlett, Mark Colvin, Keith Walker, Michael Byrne and Jim Middleton. Other popular presenters of the Double Jay period included Russell Guy, Mac Cocker (father of musician Jarvis Cocker), Gayle Austin (a former producer for talkback radio king John Laws and the first female rock DJ in Australia), Tom Zelinka, Lawrie Zion and Keri Phillips. Several of the original team went on to successful careers in the ABC: Pam Swain is now a producer with ABC-TV; Mark Colvin hosts ABC Radio National's nightly current affairs show PM; Jim Middleton was for many years the ABC's senior political correspendent in Canberra; Ros Cheney rose to become Arts Editor of ABC radio until her dismissal in 2001 (during the controversial regime of Jonathon Shier).
Double Jay's programming policies were in many ways a radical departure from the narrow formats and restrictive playlists then in place in commercial rock stations. Double Jay's programming was influenced by British pirate radio rock programs such as John Peel's The Perfumed Garden, early BBC Radio 1 and the American Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format. Although there was a playlist, presenters originally were given a wide latitude in choosing the music they played, and few restrictions were placed on music, lyrics or topics discussed on programs. In the early days of Double Jay, the station was run co-operatively and all staff (including office staff) were given a say in programming decisions.
The station played an unprecedented level of Australian content, favoured long album cuts, played tracks banned by other stations because of drug or sexual references, championed many styles of local and overseas music that were being excluded from commercial pop playlists (including reggae, punk rock, electronic and New Wave) and, following the trend set by the BBC, mixed its recorded music programming with a schedule of regular weekly live-to-air studio concert broadcasts.
Double Jay also broadcast many original comedy sketches and comedy serials, and in the early years of the station it regularly ran "anti-ads" which parodied its commercial competitors. It also featured regular news broadcasts, current affairs programs, political commentary by noted journalist Mungo MacCallum and audio documentaries like the controversial "The Ins and Outs of Love" (produced by Carl Tyson Hall) which included frank interviews with young people about their first experiences of sex. Other features included innovative radiophonic works such as "What's Rangoon To You Is Grafton To Me" and "Hot Bananas", created by presenter Russell Guy and co-narrated former ABC-TV newsreader James Dibble, and works by cult writer-musician Pip Proud.
The station rapidly gained popularity, especially in its target youth demographic; an (unidentifed) press report published ca. March 1975 noted that in its first two months on air, Double Jay had gained a respectable 5.4% share of the total radio audience, and 17% of the 18-24 age group, whilst its rival 2SM's audience share dropped by 2.3% This was despite the fact that the station was poorly received in many parts of Sydney due to problems with its original transmitter.
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 Living in the Seventies that had been banned by Australian commercial radio stations.. There were regular complaints about announcers, guests and talkback callers swearing on air and a number of other widely-reported controversies within the first few months of the station's life, including the media frenzy over The Ins and Outs of Love, and a controversy over an open air concert at Liverpool in Sydney's south-west (featuring Skyhooks and Dragon) where, under the lurid Page 1 headline "Rock Concert Filth Uproar", the Sun claimed that hundreds were "shocked" by "depictions of sexual depravity and shouted obscenities", which allegedly caused women in the audience to clap their hands over their ears and reportedly prompted Coalition frontbencher Peter Nixon to call for the station to be closed down.
Although the ABC reportedly received few direct complaints about The Ins and Outs of Love (originally broadcast on Sunday 23 February 1975) it sparked a furore in the media and the Broadcasting Control Board reportedly asked for talks with the ABC about the program's sexual content. Two days after the show, the Fairfax tabloid The Sun published an editorial calling for the station to be closed, and a week later, on 10 March 1975, the influential marketing/advertising industry journal B&T followed suit, variously demanding that the station (A) should be closed down or that (B) it should have its programming completely revamped or that (C) those staff responsible for "the present series of lapses" be removed.
Another 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.
The station also regularly sponsored live concerts and organised a number of major outdoor concert events in the late 1970s, culminating in a huge outdoor all-day event in Parramatta Park on 18 January 1981, to celebrate the end of Double Jay and the start of Triple J and headlined by Midnight Oil.
1980s: 2JJJ
On 1 August 1980 2JJ began broadcasting on the FM band at a frequency of 105.7 MHz (again restricted within the greater Sydney region) and became 2JJJ (later, Triple J). Through the mid-to-late Eighties, 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.
It was not until the late 1980s that the ABC was finally able to begin development of the long-delayed national "youth network" and in 1989 JJJ expanded nationally to Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle and Perth.
In 1983 four Triple Jay presenters -- Peter Doyle, Virginia Moncrieff, Tony Barrell and Clive Walker -- began producing a fanzine with the inscrutable title of Alan (see: http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/30years/stories/alan.htm). Designed in a manic collage style by David Wales, Alan featured programming information, pop trivia and irreverent interviews with recording artists (see: http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/30years/stories/interview.htm). Wales also supplied a comic strip featuring a boy sage named Guru Adrian. In a twist that added to the character's appeal, the Guru's face was that of a real child whose identity was never revealed, leading many to believe that he was in fact a real guru. Guru Adrian's philosophy, Adrianetics (see: http://www.guruadrian.com), consisted of quixotic maxims, including "Having fun is half the fun," "Gee, you are you" and "Realise your real eyes," which rapidly gained the character a cult following in Australia, with Wales making many radio and television appearances during the mid-1980s to discuss the Guru Adrian phenomenon.
In 1984, Wales teamed with renowned Australian journalist Bruce Elder on the book "Radio With Pictures: The History of Double Jay and Triple Jay." (Hale & Iremonger, publishers. National Library of Australia card no. ISBN 0 86806 191 3)
1989-1991: Going national
In the late 1980s commercial radio manager and program director Barry Chapman (ex-2SM Sydney) was appointed as general manager to oversee Triple J's network expansion. Chapman's tenure and the expansion of the network generated controversy, most notably in 1990, when a large portion of 2JJJ's Sydney-based staff was fired, (the so-called "Night of the long knives") along with many of its on-air staff, including most popular presenters Tony Biggs and Tim Ritchie, the station's dance-music maven. As details of the changes became known to the public, there were accusations of a "JJJ Bland Out" (analogous to British DJs Smashie and Nicey) and several protests were held outside its then-William Street studios, as well as public meeting that packed the Sydney Town Hall with angry listeners spilling out onto the street as the town hall was not big enough to hold everyone who felt that "their" beloved radio station had been hijacked. A small but vocal group was formed at this time the "Free the Jays campaign" they bravely fought on with the support of Gayle Austin until the treasurer reportedly absconded with all the funds they had raised[citation needed].
Concern was expressed about the introduction of a more highly programmed music format, and the appointment of Chapman was seen as an indication of a more commercial direction. Management responded that to launch a national network meant that the station must broaden its then almost-exclusive focus on the Sydney music scene, requiring the addition of new talent. When the dust had settled on the dispute, the radio programming was not nearly as free-form as it had been before going national, but neither was it as highly-programmed as its critics feared. In the pre-national era, there had been less emphasis on a structured playlist but the introduction of a tighter playlist allowed (at least initially) a degree of input from individual presenters that exceeded that usually permitted on a commercial station.
The laissez-faire collective management style of the Double Jay days was gradually replaced by a more business-like top-down management style and after the controversial appointment of Chapman, as described above, many of the 'old guard' were dismissed from the station and replaced by presenters who were more amenable to the increasingly structured format.
The appointment of Chapman was a watershed for the station's programming, and although opinion remains sharply divided about the changes he implemented, it is undeniable that he was very successful in raising the station's profile and ratings. Chapman had previously been program director and then manager of Sydney AM pop station 2SM, which had been Australia's top-rating and most profitable commercial radio station for most of the 1970s. As noted above, Chapman controversially replaced many of the established on-air staff (such as Tim Ritchie) with younger and less experienced presenters such as Michael Tunn, who at the time of his appointment was the youngest DJ in the history of Australian radio.
Chapman oversaw a radical overhaul of Triple J's programming, implementing a version of the music-and-talk format that had been so successful for him at 2SM. This basic format — including an early morning comedy breakfast program with duo presenters; a late morning talk and talkback program and a light talk-and-comedy afternoon drive-time shift — remains substantially in place. Chapman also reduced the amount of comedy, documentaries and news (compared to the late Seventies) although (as he did at 2SM) he maintained and strengthened the station's commitment to live music.
In the late 1980s Triple J was 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.
1990s: Regional expansion
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, Tasmania; Albany, Western Australia; Bathurst, New South Wales and Mackay, Queensland. As of 2006, Triple J's most recent expansion was to Broome, Western Australia.
2000s: Online and jtv
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. He was replaced by presenter Richard Kingsmill.
In 2004, the station began to release podcasts of some of their talkback shows, including Dr Karl, This Sporting Life and Hack.
In 2006 Triple J's coverage expanded when transmission began in Broome, Western Australia. As Broome was one of the largest towns in Australia to not receive Triple J, the station celebrated with a concert featuring many local bands, also simulcast on the Live at the Wireless program.
Also in 2006, Triple J launched jtv, a series of television programs broadcast on ABC and ABC2, as well as being made available online. Programming includes music videos, live concerts, documentaries and comedy, as well as a behind the scenes look at Triple J's studios. In 2008 jtv was rebranded as triple j tv. triple j tv's first 'spin-off' series The Hack Half Hour premiered on September 22 2008, hosted by Steve Cannane
As of February 2009 triple j tv airs on 9pm Mondays on ABC2, 11pm Fridays on ABC1 and can be downloaded at triplej.net.au. The series is hosted by The Doctor aka Lindsay McDougall and it features Hack reports from Antoinette Chiha, Comedy from Sam Simmons and the film segment 'Flicked' with Marc Fennell.
Programming
Current programming mix
As well as general pop music broadcasts (with a strong bias towards new music and Australian performers, and against bubblegum pop), Triple J 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, 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 (see History section).
In common with other Australian radio stations, Triple J has also gradually increased the amount of talkback content in its programming. There are several reasons for this. Most importantly, talkback provides an inexpensive and popular source of program content, and also provides the appearance of listener interactivity and involvement. And, like many other former 'all music' stations, Triple J has had to respond to the advent of music file-sharing, digital music players and other digital music innovations, which have drastically reduced listeners' dependence on radio as a means of accessing new music and/or their favourite music.
Although the station still promotes itself as being "free and easy" and it remains far more open to new music than any of the commercial stations, there is in fact a high degree of programming structure at Triple J, and while presenters retain a degree of autonomy, most of the music played on air is part of a carefully structured playlist, posted in the studio, to which presenters are obliged to conform .
Evolution of Programming
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 censorship restrictions that were in force on commercial radio. This situation 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 (now the Australian Communications and Media Authority) and by their own peak body, the Federation of Australian Commercial Broadcasters (FACB), now known as Commercial Radio Australia.
Over the years the station gained considerable renown for breaking new local acts -- Midnight Oil are probably the prime example of this, and the group would almost certainly not have had anything like the success they enjoyed without the help of Double Jay/Triple J. The station also broke countless overseas acts who were being ignored in their home countries. Double Jay was virtually the only 'pop' station in Australia in the late Seventies to play reggae, dub, punk rock, New Wave, world music, electronic music and ambient music.
Over the years the station moved away from its early style, which featured a high level of news, features, documentaries, current affairs and comedy, and was gradually steered towards a non-commercial version of the continuous music format that prevailed in commercial radio. Many original Double Jay segments -- the nightly "What's On" gig guide, its extensive news and current affairs coverage (which was often criticised for its alleged left wing bias), and its 'community noticeboard' segment -- were gradually eliminated, as were almost all the character comedy spots that had been popular features in previous years.
Effects on local record companies and radio stations
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 almost as soon as Double Jay came on air. A good example of the station's influence was in 1976 when 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 at first 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 import sales that generated through Double Jay airplay — it became the highest selling import album that year — the company decided to release it locally.
Triple J routinely championed many local and overseas acts whose early recordings were ignored by commercial radio -- e.g. Midnight Oil, Models, Paul Kelly, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Pixies, Ben Folds Five and hundreds more. 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 case in point is American group The B-52's 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 similarly significant effect on the worldwide success of many acts, including Blondie, Devo and more recently Ben Folds Five, Garbage and especially Ben Harper, whose popularity in Australia -- which was almost 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 those owned by Austereo constantly monitored what songs and acts were doing well on Triple J and would then introduce the most 'saleable' of them into their own playlists. Acts like Talking Heads, The Police and Nirvana unquestionably owed their commercial success in Australia to the early support of Double/Triple J.
In 1989, Triple J had been playing N.W.A.'s protest song "Fuck tha Police" for up to six months, before gaining the attention of ABC management who subsequently banned it. As perhaps the only government-funded radio station in the world to play the song, as a reaction the staff went on strike and put the group's song "Express Yourself" on continuous play for 24 hours, playing it roughly 360 times in a row.
Music
General programming
Robbie, Marieke and The Doctor is the show featuring between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. weekday mornings. It is presented by Robbie Buck, Marieke Hardy and Lindsay McDougall aka 'The Doctor'.
Mornings with Zan is the 9 a.m. to midday music show, hosted by Zan Rowe. This timeslot was formerly held by chat and current affairs program The Morning Show until 2003, and Mel in the Morning hosted by Mel Bampton from 2004 until January 2007.
Lunch with Vijay is Triple J's midday to 3 p.m. show and is hosted by Vijay Khurana.
Dools is the drive program, on air from 3 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. and is presented by comedian Scott Dooley.
Super Request is Triple J's requests show, broadcast weeknights from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. It is hosted by Rosie Beaton.
Midnight to Dawn, also known as Mid-dawn or The Graveyard Shift is the name of the 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. timeslot. It is often hosted by new or unknown DJs. Previous mid-dawn hosts who then went on to regular shifts include Adam Spencer, Scott Dooley, Dave Callan and Zan Rowe. Current mid-dawn presenters include, The Cloud Girls, Brendan Maclean,Paul Francis Verhoeven, Maggie Collins and Anton De Ionno.
Speciality music genres
Triple J programming schedule includes some shows featuring many speciality genres:
J-Files
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 of 9 September 1999's show), cats & dogs, New Zealand bands, and 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.
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.
Home and Hosed
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 speciality 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. The show has now been reduced to one hour, is only on Monday to Thursdays and is hosted by Steph Hughes and Dom Alessio. Caroline Tran originally took over from Robbie but as of Thursday December 4, 2008, she has gone on maternity leave.
House Party
On February 2 2008, Triple J commenced broadcasting a house-party style programme mixed and presented by Nina Las Vegas.
News and current affairs
News coverage
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.
Current news staff:
- George Roberts
- Meredith Griffiths
- Michael Turtle
- Lucy Carter
Past news journalists
(some of whom are still with Triple J):
- Grace Jones
- Simon Lauder (Now works for ABC Current Affairs Radio)
- Rhianna Patrick
- Karen Barlow (Now works for ABC Current Affairs Radio)
- Bernadette Young (Now Afternoons presenter on 720 ABC Perth Local Radio)
- Ronan Sharkey (Now with Hack)
- Nikki Gemmell
- Daniel Browning
- Oscar McLaren
Hack
Hack is Triple J's half-hour news and current affairs show, broadcast from 5.30pm weeknights. It is hosted by Kate O'Toole. The Executive Producer is James West. Controversial topics are often discussed on the show, including globalisation, human rights abuses, music piracy, commercial media, and government. The current reporting team includes Tom Tilley, Kaitlyn Sawrey and Walkley Young Journalist of 2008 (Broadcast)] Michael Atkin
Talkback Classroom
Triple J broadcasted Talkback Classroom from 1998 to 2003, a program where secondary school students from around Australia interviewing various prominent politicians, business and community leaders on current affairs issues. The program now airs on ABC Radio National.
Comedy
The Breakfast Show
The Breakfast Show is one of the station's flagship shows. In the late 80's it was hosted by Rusty Nails, and later by resident "dag", Maynard F# Crabbes (Maynard Crabbes). In the early 1990s it was co-hosted by Helen Razer and Mikey Robbins, and later by Mikey Robbins, Paul McDermott and The Sandman (Steve Abbott). From 1999 until 2004, it was co-hosted by Adam Spencer & Wil Anderson. The pair were known for their unusual sense of humour, highlighted by regular segments including Mary from Junee, Essence of Steve and Are you smarter than Dools?.
Spencer and Anderson broadcast their final program for the station on Friday 26 November 2004 from Sydney University's Manning Bar, a site that held sentimental value to Spencer, as that was where he got his start in stand-up comedy. In 2005, Jay and Lindsay (aka 'The Doctor') from Frenzal Rhomb took over as hosts of Triple J's breakfast show. New segments include the radio skits Space Goat and Battalion 666, as well as the Under the Weather Sessions and The Friday F--- Wit. From January 8 2007, former Lunch presenter Myf Warhurst joined Jay and Lindsay as a permanent member of the Breakfast Show team.
Following the departure of Jay to go travelling the 2008 Breakfast Show line up is Robbie Buck, The Doctor and Marieke Hardy. They regularly maintained contact with Jay during his overseas travel, calling him during a segment named Where in the world is Jason "Jay" Whalley, a pun of Where's Wally.
Weekend Breakfast
Waking up early on the weekend may be hard, but if you're doing bugger all Triple J has some entertaining listening to help wake you up.
Past presenters have included Jim Trail, Caroline Tran, Costa Zouliou, Gaby Brown, Scott Dooley and Sam Simmons.
Currently in 2009 funny guys Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson will help ease you into the weekend.
This Sporting Life
This Sporting Life (TSL), which ran from 1986 to 2008, was a parody of sporting panel programs, created and hosted by actor-writer-comedians John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver under the pseudonyms Roy Slaven & HG Nelson). As well as sport, the duo cast a wide comedic net that encompassed the worlds of entertainment, politics and celebrity. TSL was remarkable as one of the few successful comedy programs that was substantially improvised.
The longest-running show in Triple J's programming history, TSL commanded a large and dedicated nationwide audience. Special editions of TSL were broadcast to coincide with the NRL and AFL grand finals (The Festival of the Boot) as well as for all three State of Origin matches. (see Roy and HG's State of Origin commentary). In 2009, after 22 years at the ABC, the duo left to work for the commercial rock station Triple M.
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 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.
Ross and Terri
Ross and Terri have broadcast weekdays at lunch times, for two 2-week periods, over summer 2005 and 2006. It was hosted by Ross Noble and Terri Psiakis. It was initially a filler show, but the popularity of the pair was enough to bring them back in 2006.
Today Today
Today Today was the name given to the drive show in 2004 and 2005, hosted by Chaser members Chris Taylor and Craig Reucassel. The show's name was derived from Today Tonight, an Australian TV current affairs show screened on the Seven Network. Their humour was in a similar vein to CNNNN and The Chaser, being more politically driven. One of their more popular skits was Coma FM, a parody of commercial radio stations.
Radio Plays
Triple J currently has several comedic radio plays.
- Coma FM was a satirical radio station performed by Today Today hosts Chris Taylor and Craig Reucassel.
- Space Goat is a parody radio sci fi performed by the breakfast show's Jay and the Doctor which takes off many features of early radio science fictions such as a long intro for very little story which leaves many questions open, which the narrator spends some time pointing out at the end.
- Battalion 666 is a comedic radio drama which takes place on a fictional Royal Navy ship, the HMS Beezlebub. It came about when, in 2004, the Royal Navy officially recognised Satanism as an official religion in which its personnel can partake. The show features Jay and the Doctor, John Safran and various sound clips of famous people taken from recorded interviews such as Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe.
Saturday Night / Graveyard Shift
In 2005 Dave Callan started at Triple J presenting the Saturday night / Sunday early morning program the Graveyard Shift.
In 2006 Dave hosted the Saturday evening timeslot, called Saturday Night. The show followed the pattern of Callan's mid-dawn shifts from previous years. In January 2007 this show was renamed "Pirate Radio" after one of the persona's commonly adopted by callers. Listener interaction plays a significant role in Callan's programs with regular callers such as "Steph from Tamworth" and "Ukelele Guy" as well as an assortment of "randoms" and "carnies". On January 27,2008, Dave returned back to the Graveyard Shift (1-6am Sunday mornings).
Sunday Night Safran
Since 2005, John Safran and Father Bob Maguire have co-hosted a Sunday night talk show, generally discussing serious topics like religion and politics.
The Race Race
Beginning on October 27, 2008, Chris Taylor and Craig Reucassel co-hosted a comedy program centred on the 2008 US Presidential Election entitled The Race Race. The program aired at 5pm weekdays until the wrap-up episode, which aired on November 5, 2008, after the elections had concluded.
The program derived its name from the fact that Barack Obama, the first African–American to be nominated by a major American political party for president, was running a formerly exclusively-white political race against the white Republican candidate, John McCain.
Events and promotions
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 in 2005 it attracted 606,060 votes - the largest music poll in the world. It has also spawned a series of successful compilation CDs, and more recently, music DVDs.
The countdown of the top 100 songs on Australia Day weekend, usually accompanied by a barbecue plus obligatory beverage, has become an annual summer ritual for Triple J fans around Australia and around the world.
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 Unearthed competition was inspired by the success of a talent search on SBS-TV program "Nomad" called "Pick Me". This segment, co-produced by Triple J, discovered a trio from Newcastle called the "Innocent Criminals", who later gained international fame under the name Silverchair.
The most recent incarnation of Unearthed is run online, and allows listeners to rate and review songs uploaded by bands and musicians.
Beat the Drum
Triple J occasionally runs a competition known as 'Beat the Drum' - named for their logo of three drumsticks hitting a drum. It is a competition designed to promote the logo, whereby, whoever displayed it in the most prominent place would win a prize. Notable entries include:
- A girl who distributed postcards of herself with the Triple J logo painted on her naked buttocks
- A Triple J t-shirt being waved behind the final lap of, and the presentation of a gold medal for Kieren Perkins' victorious 1500 m swim at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
- One of the 2000 Sydney Olympics opening ceremony participants wearing a Triple J T-shirt bearing the logo
- The placement of a large Triple J logo on the musicians platform at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
- The winner in 2000 who drove his car, converted into a large 3D drum logo, across Australia.
- A group of people erecting road signs with the Triple J frequency all the way up the east coast of Australia
- A farmer in Queensland who formed a drum logo shaped crop circle measuring 1 by 1.5 km in his wheat-fields. This entry won in the individual/small group category in 2004.
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 inclusion of a of the former World Trade Center draped with a huge Drum flag.
Impossible Music Festival
The Impossible Music Festival, broadcast in August 2005 was a celebration of 30 years of live music recordings made by JJ and Triple J. Voted for by listeners from over 1000 recorded gigs/concerts, the broadcast went from 6pm Friday the 26th to 1am Monday the 29th. The 2006 Impossible Music Festival was aired on the weekend of 7-8 October.
The 2007 Impossible Music Festival broadcast from Friday May 25 to Sunday May 27. The 2008 Impossible Music Festival was broadcast from Friday September 19 until Sunday September 21.
Triple J's One Night Stand
The One Night Stand, held annually since 2004, offers a small town the opportunity to host a free, all ages concert, sponsored by Triple J, featuring three or four Australian musical acts. Entries must include examples of local support, including community (signatures), local government (council approval) and a venue for the concert.
Ausmusic Month
Each November on Triple J is Ausmusic month, where Australian artists are heavily promoted. This includes a solid weekend of Australian music; some free, limited-entry concerts around the country; All-Australian feature albums and Live at the Wireless; and each day, a new "unknown" Australian band is featured and played several times during the day.
J Awards
The J Awards are an annual awards ceremony held at the start of December each year to celebrate Australian music. Awards include; the Unearthed J Award for best Unearthed artist, the J Award for Australian Music Video of the year, and the main J Award for Australian album of the year, judged by a panel of Triple J presenters. Past winners of the J Award include; Wolfmother, (2005), Hilltop Hoods (2006) and the The Panics (2007).
In 2008, The Presets took out the award for "Apocalypso"
Will Styles Awards
The Will Styles award is a weekly award for the person making the biggest on air gaffe. It is also known as the humpty dumpty award.
Presenters
Many Double Jay and early Triple J presenters went on to successful careers with commercial stations, the most notable being Doug Mulray, who honed his distinctive comedy-based style at the Jays before moving to rival FM rock station 2-MMM (Triple M) in the 1980s, where he became the most popular breakfast presenter in Sydney (and one of the highest-paid radio personalities in the country). Presenter Annette Shun Wah went on to host the popular Rock Around The World series on SBS TV and she is now a program executive with SBS TV and producer of The Movie Show.
See also
External links
- - includes live audio streaming of the station's broadcast, as well as archives of recent editions of shows.
- by Kate Ames, Central Queensland University
- featuring historical information about key events in the station's history as well as vintage audio and video
- JJJ Playlists
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