Commercial Radio VENT YOUR SPLEEN

[ben.carbonaro]

Does anyone have any gripes about rado stations like Triple M etc ?

My biggest gripe with Triple M would have to be they say they discoverd a particular band, yet Triple J played them and discovered them first.

I listen mostly to SEN 1116 AM, Triple J 107.5 FM and Sport 927 AM

Listen to Triple M sometimes and don't mind, just a gripe I have about them.

It can be anything and you can post them here.

 

[lasher]

one word is all i need to say why i dislike triple M....

" eddie "

 

[David Votoupal]

Well all I can say is that as a kid I hardly ever had the radio turned off at home or in dad's car, but today I'm hardly if ever tempted to listen as it's all gone downhill. I don't mind stations that play oldies, or good rock, but other than that I couldn't care less anymore with some rare exceptions. I was also a keen channel surfer who really enjoyed getting signals on my radio from as far as possible.

It's also a known fact that commercial radio stations have lost touch with the average listener, and it's felt even more in country areas than it is in the city. Out here in western Sydney, we had two radio stations that catered to our LOCAL COMMUNITY first and foremost.

Those were 2WS (now WS-FM) and 2KA (which became One FM in 1992 and is now The Edge 96.1).

2WS was set up in 1978 to serve the west out of Blacktown, while 2KA originally served Penrith and Katoomba but became identified with the wider west. Both stations were closely tied to the community in the western suburbs, played great music, had heaps of local news and information, and informative and entertaining announcers.

In the latter half of the 1990s, both stations were bought over by the Australian Radio Network (ARN- which is now part owned by Clear Channel), who own MIX 106.5. They've moved both stations out of the west to share a studio with MIX, effectively ripping the stations out of the community. That plus the downhill slide of the other stations (who cater more to the teenybopper market) has meant my enthusiasm for radio has waned significantly.

At least some consolation came when in 2001 Campbelltown (south-west of Sydney) gained its own commercial station in C91.3. Tuning in to that station captures some of the old feeling of 2KA/One FM with a strong local focus and a great variety of music.

The stations have lost touch with the communities they were meant to serve, as a result of change in focus/target demographic as well as aggregation, networking and destruction of stadium identity. It's not just us who have felt the loss, as I've mentioned above it's keenly felt in country areas throughout the country where local content has been replaced by networking often with little consideration to local interests and needs.

Never was this better shown during the NSW bushfire crisis of 2001-02, where WS FM was heavily criticised for its coverage (or lack thereof) while the station that got the most praise for its coverage was C91.3. Says it all really. Likewise, 2ST and Power FM down the South Coast (owned by Janet Cameron's Grant Broadcasters, who at least are committed to keeping stations LOCAL in content) showed their commitment to the community as they manned the bushfire centres.

 

[crudbucket]

Originally posted by lasher
one word is all i need to say why i dislike triple M....

" eddie "

FFS, get a life - Eddie parted company with MMM last year!!

 

[BomberGal]

My biggest gripe about MMM is that they even exist. They call themselves a 'rock' station? Excuse me? No wonder all those kids out there are so bloody brainwashed. I was one of them, and you have no idea how good it is to break away from it. And when you look back...argh. ****ers.

The local FM station back home is worse (95.3 Coast FM, Warrnambool). It's run by the same company as Mix 101 (ACE radio), so it's the same music (with, seriously, less variety). Take that and the fact that it's a country station, combine the two...absolute torture. I only listen to it when I'm in the car and mum insists on listening to something other than my music, or when I was still in school and my friends put it on the VCE room radio (which was every day...they'd squeal if I even dared put it on JJJ for 5 minutes)...I could sit and listen for 20 minutes and hear one song, and 15 minutes of ads. Die. I'm not surprised that most people where I'm from have very limited music 'taste'.
What's worse is that the two other nearby stations (106.3 Mix FM Colac, and 88.9 Mix FM Hamilton) are exactly the same - with about a 4 minute delay - so you can flick between the three and hear the same song three times in a row. Couldn't they at least come up with something original? Give us even a LITTLE variety or choice? Aargh.

Go the J's. Thank God you can get it in the country.

 

[David Votoupal]

Originally posted by BomberGal

The local FM station back home is worse (95.3 Coast FM, Warrnambool). It's run by the same company as Mix 101 (ACE radio),

Actually, ARN owns MIX 101 (formerly TT FM) along with MIX 106.5 (Sydney), MIX 102.3 (Adelaide- formerly 5AD) and 97.3 FM (Brisbane), as well as part-ownership of FM 104.7 and MIX 106 in Canberra.

I think ACE owned 2WL/Wave FM down in Wollongong in the late 80s/early 90s but think they would have sold the station to Grant Broadcasters in the mid-90s as Wave FM changed its format around that time.

 

[BomberGal]

Originally posted by David Votoupal
Actually, ARN owns MIX 101 (formerly TT FM)

Really?

Mix 101 have the same logo design and everything as the stations back home....or had? Has it changed and I'm not aware of it?

 

[flamethrower]

Bring back XTRA 690 !!!!

Jim Rome, The Loose Cannons, Steve "Hacksaw" Hamilton
and The Coach.

XTRA 1150 just doesn't cut the mustard, especially for San Diego sports fans.

 

[David Votoupal]

Originally posted by BomberGal
Really?

Mix 101 have the same logo design and everything as the stations back home....or had? Has it changed and I'm not aware of it?

this link gives you a listing as to who owns what, and this one too should tell you which stations are owned by Ace Radio.

 

[BomberGal]

Originally posted by David Votoupal
this link gives you a listing as to who owns what, and this one too should tell you which stations are owned by Ace Radio.

That's really odd.

Doesn't/didn't the Mix 101 logo used to look similar to this?

 

[David Votoupal]

This is the Mix 101 logo:

Several stations across the country are called "MIX FM" but the ones in the capital cities are ARN stations and the two up in QLD are owned by RG Capital. The MIXX FM stations are the ones in country Victoria owned by Ace Radio.

 

[BomberGal]

Originally posted by David Votoupal
This is the Mix 101 logo:

Several stations across the country are called "MIX FM" but the ones in the capital cities are ARN stations and the two up in QLD are owned by RG Capital. The MIXX FM stations are the ones in country Victoria owned by Ace Radio.

Yeah, but I thought it used to be different, like that Coast FM one I showed. I'm not judging this just on names.

 

[Mog]

Originally posted by BomberGal
Go the J's. Thank God you can get it in the country.

As far as I can see that providing an alternative is about the only good thing about JJJ these days. The music isn't much different to any other commercial station in the capital cities, and you get the added bonus of squawking try hard announcers thrusting their oh so cool "alternative" theories at you.

 

[Ryan8024]

I wonder who owns Coma FM

My biggest gripe about MMM is that they even exist. They call themselves a 'rock' station? Excuse me? No wonder all those kids out there are so bloody brainwashed. I was one of them, and you have no idea how good it is to break away from it. And when you look back...argh. ****ers.

My biggest gripe with Triple M would have to be they say they discoverd a particular band, yet Triple J played them and discovered them first.

I agree with both of you, but my biggest gripe is that you can hear the same song up to 7 times a day. It's really annoying if I'm at work because I get a feeling of deja vu


Back when Grinspoon covered "Don't Change", Triple M played it and about 3 songs later, they played the INXS version.

 

[sandeano]

Last night I was driving to the shop and turned on the radio to grab the footy score. Triple M was the first footy station I came across and it was probably the first time I had listened to them at all in several years.

Anyway, it was 3/4 time and an ad break was in progress and they were flogging some competition that is currently underway at the station. Called a "Rock Off" or something, it apparently involves them playing two different bands each hour and listeners voting as to which one should go through to the next round.

They mentioned that day's results which included The Offspring beating The Rolling Stones.

Yep, that summed up both the station and its listenership perfectly and on that note I located the AM button and sought out 3AW.

 

[beckybiglands]

I rarely listen to the radio, but usually listen to the J's special shows etc I take interest in....


Don't get me started on how much I hate Austereo...

I WANT MY JOB BACK DAMNIT!

For those of you who haven't heard my sad, sad, tale, Austereo sacked me, and approx. 100 other people from their Adelaide call centre, 3 days before Christmas, so they could used an internet company in Sydney, and because they were scared of Nova

 

[go_the_cattas]

Triple M

agree on how triple m have a really bad "rock" songs at times, some of the poo they play is beyond a joke....but the other thing i dislike about triple m is the amount of ads, there wood be about a 3:1 ratio ad to song n is ****es me off. that said, its still the station i listen to most.

 

[David Votoupal]

If you read through this then you should get a better idea of the feelings of many people over the way radio's been going in recent years.

 

[demon_dave]

Re: Triple M

Originally posted by go_the_cattas
agree on how triple m have a really bad "rock" songs at times, some of the poo they play is beyond a joke....but the other thing i dislike about triple m is the amount of ads, there wood be about a 3:1 ratio ad to song n is ****es me off. that said, its still the station i listen to most.

they play white trash American music all the time, Guns'n'Roses, creed etc etc crap crap crap

 

[mulhollanddrive]

What ****es me off at commercial radio is the listeners that think mainstream bands are alternative. Like kids who listen to MMM and think Linkin Park is heavy metal, or that Blink 182 is punk. Commercial radio listeners generally have no idea about anything that isnt force fed to them.

 

[Ryan8024]

On the bright side, I heard the brand new Franz Ferdinand song, 'Take Me Out' on Triple M today.

 

[dr nick]

Originally posted by Ryan8024
On the bright side, I heard the brand new Franz Ferdinand song, 'Take Me Out' on Triple M today.

i stopped listening to that shyte years ago. Far too much jimmeh barnes and other miscellaneous dinosaur rock. A title 8 months old passes as 'brand new' with them Its like listening to JJJ with a 12 month timewarp.

 

[Ryan8024]

Originally posted by nicko18
i stopped listening to that shyte years ago. Far too much jimmeh barnes and other miscellaneous dinosaur rock. A title 8 months old passes as 'brand new' with them Its like listening to JJJ with a 12 month timewarp.

I'd been drifting between them for a few months, but it was Limp Bizkit's "song" that turned me off MMM for good ("is 5 times a day enough? Nah, better give it 3 more spins" ). And those wacky guys in the mornings (Ex-Rugby player, Token Girl and Laugher)

 

[dr nick]

i dont know who you get up there, but it was worth listening to with Andrew Denton and Amanda Keller. Now they've got Mikey Robbins and some other hacks. You can't get much lower.

Offspring.... if they release another song soon it is guaranteed 12 runs a day.

I think they boycotted the vines because they said what a crap station it was

 

[moistie]

If you're in Melbourne, for real radio, try public radio 106.7 PBS or 102.7 RRR. Sure, not all the segments they have will be to your taste, but they've got 1,000,000 times more variety (ie you won't hear the same song twice in a day on either of these stations), they play new music and the announcers generally are interesting people.

For those of you not in Melbourne, try this:
RRR- You'll need Real Player
or this-
PBS-