as triple j see union j. this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . august 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message triple j broadcast area australia fm dab where available & online worldwide internet radio slogan we love music frequency various first air date 19 january 1975 1975 01 19 format music current affairs youth culture language s english erp various former callsigns double j 2jj owner australian broadcasting corporation sister stations triple j unearthed double j and j webcast online stream http stream 64kbps aac hls stream 64kbps aac website abc.net.au triplej triple j is a government funded national australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 25 which began broadcasting in january 1975 . 1 the station places a greater emphasis on broadcasting australian and alternative music compared to commercial stations . 2 3 triple j is government owned and is a division of the australian broadcasting corporation . contents 1 history 1.1 launch and early years double jay 2jj 1.2 1980s 2jjj 1.3 1989 1991 nationwide expansion 1.4 1990s regional expansion 1.5 2000s online and jtv 1.6 2010s digital radio double j beat the drum 2 programming 2.1 current programming mix 2.2 evolution of programming 2.3 effects on local record companies and radio stations 2.4 music 2.4.1 general programming 2.4.2 speciality music shows 2.4.3 j files 2.4.4 live at the wireless 2.4.5 home & hosed 2.4.6 house party 2.5 news and current affairs 2.5.1 news 2.5.2 hack 2.5.3 talkback classroom 2.5.4 heywire 2.6 comedy 2.6.1 the breakfast show 2.6.2 weekend breakfast 2.6.3 this sporting life 2.6.4 raw comedy competition 2.6.5 restoring the balance 2.6.6 ross and terri 2.6.7 today today 2.6.8 radio plays 2.6.9 saturday night graveyard shift 2.6.10 sunday night safran 2.6.11 the race race 2.7 hottest 100 2.8 unearthed 2.9 beat the drum 2.10 impossible music festival 2.11 triple j s one night stand 2.12 ausmusic month 2.13 j awards 3 presenters 4 programming history 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message launch and early years double jay 2jj edit 2jj commenced broadcasting at 11 00 am sunday 19 january 1975 at 1540 khz call sign 1539khz in 1978 on the am band . 4 the new australian broadcasting corporation abc station was given the official call sign 2jj but soon became commonly known as double j. 5 the station was restricted largely to the greater sydney region and its local reception was hampered by inadequate transmitter facilities . however its frequency was a clear channel nationally so it was easily heard at night throughout south eastern australia . after midnight the station would often use abc networks during their off air time slot to increase its broadcasting range . 6 its first broadcast demonstrated a determination to distinguish itself from other australian radio stations . the first on air presenter dj holger brockmann notably used his own name a deliberate reference to his former work for top rated sydney pop station 2sm . owing to 2sm s restrictive policies at the time brockmann whose real name was considered too foreign sounding had been forced to work using the pseudonym bill drake in prior positions . after an introductory audio collage that featured sounds from the countdown and launch of apollo 11 brockmann launched the station s first ever broadcast with the words wow and we re away and then cued the skyhooks you just like me cos i m good in bed . 5 the choice of a skyhooks song to introduce the station was significant as it represented several important features of the double jay brand at the time . choosing an australian band reflected double jay s commitment to australian content at a time when american acts dominated commercial pop stations . most notably the song was one of several tracks from the skyhooks album that had been banned from airplay on commercial radio by the industry s peak body . citation needed because double jay was a government funded station operating under the umbrella of the abc it was not bound by commercial radio censorship codes and was not answerable to advertisers or the station owners . in contrast their sydney rival 2sm was owned by a holding company controlled by the catholic archdiocese of sydney resulting in the ban or editing of numerous songs . citation needed 2jj was a product of the progressive media policies of the whitlam government of 1972 75 7 and combined influences from several earlier abc programs such as room to move as well as the freewheeling programming policies of british pirate radio and bbc radio 1 which was created to target the pirate radio audience . the inspiration gained from the uk led to double j adopting the tradition of weekly live in the studio performances by pop and rock bands . 8 gough whitlam was unable to also fulfill his aspiration for the establishment of a national youth radio network as he was controversially sacked . 9 2jj presenter and the first female dj on australian pop radio gayle austin who was completing a master of arts ma on triple j s first 16 years in 2005 explained that 2jj staff had also heard of other motivations for the founding of the station word was the whitlam government wanted to set the station up to woo young voters . we also heard that the abc was worried about its audience dying off and wanted a station for young people who would grow up to be abc listeners . 10 additionally the station was one of a series of innovations that stemmed from the recommendations in the mclean report of 1974 . these included expanding radio broadcasting onto the fm band issuing a new class of broadcasting license 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 short lived 3zz in melbourne . 4 11 by the time 2jj went to air the whitlam government was in its final months of office . marius webb one of the station s co ordinators recalls an abc executive informing him you ll be on the air by january . thank you very much i ve got another meeting . 9 on 11 november 1975 whitlam s commission was revoked by governor general sir john kerr sparking a double dissolution of parliament . in the subsequent 1975 federal election labor was defeated by the liberal national party coalition that was led by malcolm fraser . during the more conservative media climate that emerged in the fraser years 2jj staff were frequently accused of left wing bias . citation needed 2jj was initially intended to be the first link in whitlam s planned national youth network ; but the expansion was greatly delayed by the election of the fraser government and the subsequent budget cuts it imposed on the abc . 12 it was a historic moment in australian radio when the station decided to hire a female disc jockey 9 and excluding the first experimental fm licences was granted the first new radio licence issued in any australian capital city since 1932 . 13 in its early years 2jj s on air staff were mainly recruited from either commercial radio or other abc stations . later in another first the roster also featured presenters who did not come from a radio industry background including singer songwriters bob hudson 14 and john j. francis and actor lex marinos . 15 francis commenced broadcasting in the saturday midnight to dawn shift in 1975 and the program became so popular that it was expanded to include friday and sunday nights two years later . 16 the foundation staff of january 1975 were webb and ron moss 9 co ordinators 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 graeme berry john arden colin vercoe alan mcgirvan pam swain graham bartlett mark colvin keith walker michael byrne and jim middleton . 17 other popular presenters of the 2jj period included austin a former producer for talkback radio king john laws 9 russell guy mac cocker father of musician jarvis cocker 9 tom zelinka lawrie zion and keri phillips . several of the original team developed successful careers at the abc mark colvin hosts abc radio national s current affairs show pm ; 18 jim middleton hosts newsline with jim middleton on abc television ; and ros cheney became arts editor of abc radio until her dismissal in 2001 during the controversial regime of jonathan shier . 19 2jj s programming policies were considered a radical departure from the formats of commercial stations . in 2005 austin published a recollection from colin vercoe one of the station s first music programmers in those days it was the early disco stuff and if it was black they just wouldn t play it . 10 2jj was also a pioneer in terms of its coverage of local music . austin stated in a 2005 abc radio special to commemorate the youth station s 30th anniversary there was very little australian music . at that time australian music didn t have much production put into it because there wasn t much money made out of it . 9 2jj announcer chris winter explained that there was enormous breadth of music around at the time that was not played on radio but could be heard in private gatherings or bought from specialist stores . austin states that the original aim of 2jj was to highlight our own culture and the staff were expected to provide an alternative to the mainstream with a heavy emphasis on australian content . 2jj consequently garnered a reputation for not only eclectic playlists but also radical talk content ... it was in the talk area that the really radical work was done . comedy acts such as chuck chunder and the space patrol captain goodvibes nude radio graham bond and rory o donoghue s show which launched norman gunston fred dagg aka john clarke and the legendary anti ads informed future program makers on how humour could be used on radio . 10 the station also sought to create a genuine dialogue with listeners whereby the audience could claim a sense of ownership of the station and announcers even played demo tapes recorded by listeners who were also musicians the start of what is now known as triple j unearthed . austin explained in 2005 in that first year we had a station policy of access all areas . in early march women took over the station as announcers to celebrate international women s day . the listeners owned the station too and if they wanted to come to the meetings and join the debate they were welcome . this attitude led to some interesting moments such as when holger brockman s shift was hijacked by three aboriginal activists . they entered the studio and said they