Media essays

The history of community radio station 3RRR

By Jamie Helmore

(2004)
The focus of this essay is the history of community radio station Triple R. The essay does not merely entail tracing Triple R back to its days of formation. In compiling the history of an organisation many factors need to be taken into account.
This essay will be broken into three main sections. The first of which will set the context by providing a brief description of the community broadcasting sector. The following section will outline Triple R's formative days. Finally a detailed account of the station as it is today will be delivered.
After conducting exhaustive research into Triple R it became apparent that very little has been written regarding the formation and ongoing operation of the station. A mini-thesis entitled Educational Broadcasting: The Philosophy and Practice of Three Triple R Broadcasters - Melbourne authored by Peter R Duffy has been invaluable in its account of the early years of Triple R. Another extremely useful resource was current station manager, Ms Kath Letch. Her knowledge and expertise provided insight into in the present operation of Triple R. Information regarding the years that have passed between Duffy's thesis and now has remained unattainable and as a result the structure of this essay had to be modified.
Originally, this essay was intended to track Triple R through the years. A timeline was to be constructed outlining the major events that have shaped Triple R, any challenges that have threatened the station, influential people (station managers or financial sources) and government influences on the community broadcaster. Unfortunately, due to the lack of resources, the angle of the essay had to adjusted.
The revised form of the essay eludes to the missing years by presenting cause for comparison between the station as it was then, and the station as it stands today. The readers can observe the changes and the growth that have taken place over Triple R's 26 years of broadcasting.
Community Broadcasting in Australia
In the current broadcasting industry there are three tiers; commercial, national and community. As Triple R is a community radio station, this focus will be on the third tier of broadcasting.
Community Broadcasting Online describes its sector as providing “… news, information, cultural content and entertainment to communities defined by location or common interest. With diversity as the sector's keynote, stations reflect the many interests of their communities in their programming.”
Up until 1992 community broadcasting was known as 'public broadcasting.' Public broadcasting began in 1972 when the former Australian Broadcasting Control Board (since replaced by the Australian Broadcasting Authority) recommended that “a new type of service… conducted on a non-profit basis” be introduced.
The proposed form of broadcasting was designed to fulfil two main functions. Firstly, to encourage community access and participation in the medium. Also, to provide a vast range of programs that would cater to the interests of specific communities and minority groups. Under this brand of broadcasting three experimental licenses were issued in 1974. Two years later, in 1976, a further 12 licenses were distributed across Australia, which is when Triple R's predecessor 3RMT emerged.
In 1978, the federal government passed legislation that legitimised the public broadcasting sector. In April 1978 public broadcasters operating on an experimental license were invited to apply for a full license. “By the end of the 1980's, 79 public radio licenses had been issued in Australia.”
The Western Australian Community Broadcasting Authority states that currently “… Australia has more than 420 long term licensed community broadcasting services (over half of them located in rural, regional and remote areas)…” These stations vary from high power to low power in their transmission strength. Some may be decked out with the latest technology whereas others operate on outdated equipment.
One large component of the community broadcasting sector is volunteers. As community broadcasting stations are not-for-profit organisations, they can not fund a large paid staff, so volunteers, from the communities that these stations service, fuel the industry by performing administrative, fund-raising and presenting roles.
Community Broadcasters, under the Broadcast Services Act (1992), are stations that; provide services for community purposes, operate on a not-for-profit basis and provide programs that can be received on commonly accessible equipment and that are available to the general public free of charge.
THE FORMATIVE DAYS
RMIT and 3RMT;
Community Broadcaster Triple R emerged from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University.) From 1976 - 1978 the station was called 3RMT and operated on an experimental license under the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1905).
In 1978, Liberal Government Minister for Posts and Telecommunications, Mr Tony Staley, revised the Broadcasting and Television Act (1948). The amended legislation was passed in April 1978.
Under the amended Act, stations holding experimental licenses were given the opportunity to apply for full licenses. The new license offered by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal was Category 'E', an Educational license. The provision an 'E' license, was conditional on the proposed station being operated by a consortium of educational institutions, rather than a single institution, such as RMIT.
After initial trepidation from RMIT a consortium was formed between RMIT, Caulfield Institute of Technology, Swinburne College of Technology and Melbourne State College. These institutions formed Triple R Broadcasters Limited. RMIT was charged with control of the station on behalf of the consortium. La Trobe and Deakin Universities also joined the consortium by August 1979.
The license application outlined four types of programs; “Education programs, Programs produced by Consortium Members, Information Programs and Cultural and Entertainment Programs.” Also specified in the application was the promise that “…an educational, informed, intelligent and critical attitude would underlie all of its [Triple R's] programs, content and presentation.”
On 30 August 1978 at RMIT a meeting was held for all involved in the application process for Triple R. At the meeting the Principal of RMIT, Mr P.W.Whitton tabled a telegram from the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal offering a Category 'E' License. The offer, of course, was accepted.
Triple R's first day of broadcast was 1 September 1978.

Location;
The studios of Triple R were originally located at the city campus of RMIT. The station was then temporarily situated in Cardigan Street Carlton before moving to 25 Victoria Street Fitzroy, where it would remain until the current day.
Programming style
In its first year of broadcasting Triple R's style “…consisted of a mix of spoken word material produced by paid station workers and non-commercial specialist music programs presented by volunteer announcers.”
The particular style of educational broadcasting developed by Triple R was directed towards a non-mainstream and youthful audience.
As a community broadcaster Triple R aimed to service the needs and interests of peoples/groups neglected by the mainstream media. “Several of the items set out in [The Memorandum of Association of Triple R Broadcasters Limited] included the provision, promotion and the permitting of the broadcasting of programs of a wide variety for the purpose of education, information, enlightenment, entertainment and particularly programs of a kind not otherwise available in the community.”
In the Triple R Subscriber Magazine of August 1997, station manager Kath Letch states that “[f]rom its early days Triple R defined education with an 'e' rather than an 'E' and recognised that radio needed to be entertaining and informative.”

Staffing structure;
In the early days, before Triple R had emerged from 3RMT, finance was heavily dependent upon RMIT. A small number of staff were employed. On the pay roll were an engineer, a small number of specialist education producers, a specialist music producer and the station manager Ms Sue Matthews. The station relied on the contribution of a large number of unpaid volunteers to present the music programs which comprised the majority of the stations airtime each day.
Challenges faced in the early days;
The newly formed Triple R faced many challenges within its first few years of broadcasting. Some of which are identified and discussed below.
On 1 September 1978, the first day of broadcasting, a volunteer presenter played a comedy track that contained illicit language. The general public lodged no complaints, however an employee of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal who was listening immediately alerted the authorities to the breach of regulations. As a consequence of the incident Triple R's license duration was shortened from four years to just one year.
As a result of the incurred penalty Triple R would face the license renewal hearing three years earlier than expected. The consortium recognised that the station would have to present a convincing argument in order to be awarded another license, so they established a Working Party to prepare for the Tribunal hearing. Shortly before the hearing was to take place, the Tribunal provided the station with two week-long surveys of the station's broadcasts. The first survey was conducted when the station was still operating as 3RMT, the second taken just a month after 3RRR had hit the airwaves. “Amongst the Tribunal's Information Paper's analysis was the finding that of the seventeen different types of programs broadcast by station only 0.1% consisted of programs deemed educational, while rock music made up 61.1% of the overall programming of the station.”
It appeared that the odds were stacked against the renewal of Triple R's license. The station submitted a passionate application arguing that the survey samples were not representative of the programming of Triple R at the time of the hearing. They argued that Triple R had in fact fulfilled its Promise of Performance. Their argument must have been convincing, because on 1 September 1979, Triple R was awarded a license for a further 3 years.
Another challenge arose in 1980 when the Federal Government cut funding to tertiary education institutions. As 3RRR relied heavily on the funding from the consortium institutions, these funding cuts impacted significantly upon the station's finances. The stations budget plummeted from $268,000 in 1979-1980, to just $130,000 in 1980-1981.
The station were forced to seek alternative forms of funding, and eventually succeeded in convincing the teacher unions to join the consortium. Despite the addition of another member to the consortium, the finances of Triple R remained problematic. A cash flow crisis in 1981 resulted in the station launching a media publicity campaign alerting the public to the “…imminent closure of the station.”
The situation worsened when, between August and November 1981, several members of the consortium were forced to leave due to their inability to continue funding the station.
In light of the possibly fatal financial situation, the Board of the Consortium established a Committee of Review to examine all aspects of the station and to make recommendations as to how Triple R could run more efficiently and enhance its long-term prospects. The recommendations of the Review Committee formed the basis of the application for license renewal in 1982. The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal again renewed the station's license for a further three year period.
Triple R in 2004
Due to the before mentioned lack of resources on Triple R, much of the information regarding the status of the station in the present time had to be acquired through an interview of the current station manager, Ms Kath Letch. The interview was conducted on Tuesday 18 May 2004 at the Triple R Studios in Victoria Street Fitzroy.
Ms Letch has performed the role of station manager for nine years, starting with Triple R in 1995. Ms Letch is an authority on community broadcasting having worked in the industry since 1979 and having formerly held the position of President of the
Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA.)
Triple R, 102.7 FM, is considered to be Australia's most successful community broadcaster. Ms Letch attributes such a title to a number of factors.

Firstly, “Triple R has by far the largest number of listener subscriptions of any community station and this level of support from the Melbourne community has assisted the station to continue to develop as an independent community broadcaster.” Importantly also, “[f]inancially we've stayed with our heads above water, that's pretty much success in community broadcasting terms.”
Secondly, “[Triple R] has a higher community profile than many community stations, that is it's known by people.” Ms Letch elaborates, “[Triple R] tends to be known more nationally than a lot of other stations… that's largely I think because of our profile within the music industry and because of that commitment to Australian music.”

Also Ms Letch states that “..what's generally considered to be successful is that we've stayed on air, that we're not seen to be a fake option, that we've had an enormously high commitment to Australian culture and Australian artists and music and Triple R is attributed with profiling that music.”
She continues “ [p]art of [our success has] been guerilla tactics. [Triple R has] developed a loyalty, there are Triple R stickers floating around on cars in Melbourne.”
“The other factor I think is that a lot of Triple R broadcasters over the last 25 years have gone on to work in mainstream media so it's seen as a breeding ground for good broadcasting talent.” One prime example of well renowned media personalities that used Triple R as their springboard to success are the current breakfast team for commercial station Nova 100, “Hughesy, Kate and Dave” (Dave Hughes, Kate Langbroek and Dave O'Neil.)
Programming style
The current mission statement of Triple R is “[t]o educate, inform and entertain by drawing upon appropriate community resources to develop a critical approach to contemporary culture.”
Ms Letch believes that “[t]he station hasn't changed a great deal in terms of what it's about and what it pursues from the start to where it is now.”
Ms Letch perceives Triple R's role as to provide an independent perspective on “cultural issues and cultural activity.” Ms Letch explains “[Triple R is] a non play listed station unlike commercial media which is generally very narrow in frame. So you get a huge variety of music and access to that, but you also get a very diverse range of opinion and you get a diverse range of information like science shows, arts programs, literature programs, programs on cultural issues and a fairly broad range of cultural comment.”
Triple R's 'Program Guide' for the period of April through July 2004 display 63 separate programs that air on a weekly basis. These programs are diverse in their content and cover topics including science fiction, travel, sports, film, medicine, marine, surf , environment and music (ranging from punk, r'n'b, blues, hip hop, dance and rock, with much emphasis placed on music produced in Australia.)
Ms Letch explains that “…broadcasters have a completely autonomous role within their program and their program content. There is no station position, no one is telling them what position they have to take.”
Triple R is fulfilling its role as a community broadcaster by presenting material that is diverse and unrestricted by advertising objectives and majority opinion. “ So I think [the station] contributes to the diversity of day to day Melbourne life, and I think it contributes to the range of media which Melbournians' can access…The stations sees itself very much as a Melbourne station.”

Regulations
Community Broadcasters, although unrestricted by a commercial imperative, do have the Broadcasting Services Act (1992) and a 'code of practice' by which they are obliged to comply. Each broadcasting sector, commercial, national and community developed their own 'code of practice' which were submitted to the Australian Broadcasting Authority. The codes, in conjunction with the Broadcasting Services Act (1992) provide a set of objectives and a framework within which community broadcasters operate.
The Act provides for matters regarding, among other things, sponsorship and programming and entails that there is a maximum of four minutes that can be allocated for sponsorship announcements per hour.
Funding
As community broadcasters by definition are not-for-profit organisations, funding is a constant concern. Ms Letch advises that Triple R's revenue is generated “…50/50 between sponsorship and listener subscriptions.”
Sponsorship operates on a month-to-month basis and as a result Ms Letch could not pinpoint how many sponsors were on board at Triple R. Some sponsorship is event based. Triple R run fundraising events over the duration of the year, and these events attract sponsors.
One major fundraising event is Triple R's annual radio-thon campaign, which generates roughly half of the station's annual operating budget. Other events include music gigs, such as 'Uprooted', and live outside broadcasts where musical acts perform.
The other portion of the station's revenue is acquired through listener subscriptions. Currently “there are 10,000 subscribed.”
Of the institutions that originally constituted the consortium, only RMIT and Melbourne University remain as part of the structure.
Volunteers/staff
Triple R currently employ 12 staff members. The broad functions performed by the station's employees include administration, production, programming, sponsorship and promotion as well as information technology. They are the primary areas of focus.
“Doing what we do with about a dozen staff is fairly demanding on a year to year basis.” Ms Letch admits. “I'd love to have someone in charge of marketing and public relations and all that sort of stuff but we don't really have the resources to have… designated positions to that so they tend to get shared around.”
Fortunately Triple R have a loyal group of volunteers who assist with the day to day running of the station. There are about 150 regular volunteers who perform a range of roles including presenting, production and office administration. All of Triple R's program broadcasters are volunteers who contribute to the station because of passion rather than a pay cheque. The station is also host to many school work experience students.
Triple R's heavy reliance on volunteers is representative of the community broadcasting sector. Nationwide there are around 20,000 volunteers that contribute to the operation of community radio stations. The majority of broadcasters on community stations are volunteers. It is the volunteers, the public that the stations broadcast to, that keep their stations, and the sector alive.
Location
Triple R has broadcast from 25 Victoria Street Fitzroy since 1981. Their lease is due to expire and the owners of the building wish to expand their business into the premises, meaning Triple R will be forced to leave the place it has called home for the past 23 years.
Triple R has purchased a new premises at 217-221 Nicholson Street Brunswick. “The purchase represents a major step in Triple R's history and development and for the first time we'll have the opportunity to create permanent studios and facilities suited to our unique style of broadcasting”, said Ms Letch in announcing the purchase. If all goes according to plan the move will take place toward the end of this year.
Obstacles/challenges faced over the years
Ms Letch states that “[t]he challenges are about finding enough revenue to operate a station and maintaining that and the changes in broadcast technology which have been very extensive over the last ten years.” She also identified conflicts within an organisation as an obstacle that may arise at times.
One major problem for the sector is that “[c]ommunity broadcasting doesn't receive government funding so the challenge for stations is to do what they do as independent broadcasters and raise revenue to that.” With out financial assistance community broadcasters are charged with the responsibility of acquiring on-going sponsorship and attracting listener subscriptions.
“Most stations have at least several crisis points in their history. These are not funded organisations, it's hard to make them work financially. There are a diverse group of people who are actively engaged in an organisation, probably every station has its' periods of difficulty or crisis, it would be peculiar if they hadn't.” Ms Letch continues by saying That Triple R is “…a really successful station and at the same time it's had difficult periods. It's had various times of conflicts… within the organisation…there would be something wrong if there wasn't some of that sort of stuff.”
Having taken into account the challenges mentioned above, Ms Letch still considers Triple R to have been “…a pretty smooth, stable operation over the last decade.”
Future challenges
The entire broadcast industry is faced with a major transition from analogue to digital. “Digital transition…[is] a major challenge that faces this station [Triple R] and any other community radio station because it's an expensive change over.” The transition will be essential, however it is not known at what point it will become a necessity.
Digital radio trials commenced in Melbourne and Sydney toward the end of last year. Ms Letch speculates that digital technology will become prevalent in four to five years. One of the requirements of the Broadcast Services Act 1992 is that community broadcasters must be 'able to be received by commonly available equipment.' When the time arrives that there is a considerable uptake of digital receivers then Triple R, and other community broadcasters will be required to provide a digital service. The change is inevitable.
Conclusion
You don't have to be a listener of Triple R to be familiar with the station. Many cars proudly display the station's bumper stickers. It is not an unfamiliar sight to see the stickers in areas to which Triple R does not even broadcast.
Over the years Triple R has become renowned as a launching pad for Australian music artists and media personalities. The station has not compromised on it's commitment to broadcasting a vast range of material catering for special interest groups and those neglected by the mainstream media institutions. A point that is aptly summed up by Ms Letch in stating that “[w]hat we do and what we seek to do hasn't really changed much in 25 years.”


Bibliography;Duffy, Peter R. Educational Broadcasting: The Philosophy and Practice of Three Triple R Broadcasters - Melbourne. Melbourne: LaTrobe University, 1985.
Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) www.aba.gov.au/radio/
Accessed: 3 April 2004
Community Broadcasting Association of Australia www.cbaa.org.au/
Accessed: 8 April 2004
Community Broadcasting Online www.cboonline.org.au/ Accessed: 8 April 2004
Letch, Kath. Triple R Subscriber Magazine, August 1997, 19 - 20.
http://members.tripod.com/ Accessed: 3 April 2004
Nova 100 website www.nova100.com.au Accessed: 19 May 2004The Official Three Triple R Website www.rrr.org.au Accessed: 3 April 2004
http://tunefm.une.edu.au/ Accessed: 3 April 2004
Western Australian Community Broadcasting Association www.shamarcom.com/wacba/national-perspective/history-national.html
Accessed: 8 April 2004
INTERVIEW
Letch, Ms Kath. Station Manager of Triple R. 18 May 2004.

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