I read Liz Giuffre‘s article in The Music in defence of triple j. She says:
To my darling sister Triple J,
It might seem strange that I think of you as a sibling of a specific gender even though you are a radio station, but you really do feel like a beloved older sister to me.
Like younger siblings all over Australia, I can trace much of my love of music back to you.
Many of you who read radioinfo had a similar connection to a station growing up. Before the internet, that’s where you and I discovered music and the really cool humans who would tell us about that music either by themselves or as part of a team, as well as stories of their life and the city or town they broadcast to and for. Without the distractions of Spotify, DAB+ and streaming most of us would have selected a station and been as fiercely devoted to it as we might also have been towards our NRL or AFL teams. Radio presenters were bona fide stars. Our boom boxes were vessels that we would stand next to with our fingers hovering over the play and record buttons to catch what Doug Mulray said next, or the latest George Michael release.
Reading Liz’s piece was a reminder that most of us who work in the industry do so because of that person you heard that you wanted to be like, or that station that defined the type of musical genres you loved, and probably still hold affection for.
I grew up in Thornleigh in North West Sydney. I understand that area now is seen like the lower north shore, but when I was a teenager, at a proper north shore public high school, I was called a “westie”. Perhaps that’s why I gravitated to 2WS. I was already into music decades older than myself and thought that Hans Torv and Kaylee Harris had the most fun on breakfast and the best jobs in the world. Hans did music trivia at 6am and I was getting up every day at that time to listen. One day I rang to contribute. Hans couldn’t believe how much I knew at such a young age. I ended up doing work experience on breakfast and in the news room with Glenn Daniel. It was exhilarating and unforgettable.
With the increased competition for our attention, the rise of technology to make audio creativity functionally easier and the job losses at present at Nine, SCA and Seven, Liz’s article is a reminder of what radio, and now podcasts offer in terms of connection, life’s passion and music interests.
What was your station?
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo