Save Our Radio Waves: Why We Need Triple J
- genevavalek
- Jul 17, 2014
- 2 min read
Imagine if you lived in a world with radio that didn’t have repetitive and moronic ads. That didn’t have fake, scripted, imbecilic segments hosted by fake, scripted, imbecilic people. That didn’t embarrass callers with awkward and uncomfortable questions. That didn’t play that same damn Pharrell song seventy thousand times a day.
Thankfully, that world does exist, and luckily enough, it’s the one we live on. Saving our ears (and our intellect) for decades has been community and government radio such asTriple J.
But, in a continually growing saga of the current government’s handbook on ‘How To Make Australia Worse For The Youth’, Liberal senator James McGrath has delivered his maiden speech, where he calls for the ABC to be privatised if it does not address its supposed ‘inner-city left-wing bias’, and for Triple J to be sold immediately.
His speech – in which he also demanded abolition of federal departments of health and education and defended people’s rights to make homophobic comments – has caused an uproar in the youth community, and for good reason: apart from good quality public toilets, the ‘Js are Australia’s most under-appreciated public service.
Fronted by a group of enthusiastic, honest and genuinely funny presenters and backed by a devoted team behind the scenes, Triple J operates seamlessly around the clock to give light-hearted yet engrossing content. This is, of course, moulded around an exquisite choice of modern and classic music: covering almost all genres with a much-needed emphasis on Australian music, it’s a flawless combination. Oh, and did I mention there’s no ads?
The privatisation of Triple J would be a tragic event and a classic ‘you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone’ circumstance. James McGrath should have thought twice before he talked, because without Triple J, we are all going to have a lot more silent and awkward car trips to school.
Article by Ruben Seaton
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