3RRR, more commonly known simply as Triple R, is a community radio station in
Melbourne. It began as 3RMT, an
RMIT student station in 1962, the first Melbourne FM station, before becoming 3RRR in 1976. It is now situated in
Fitzroy, operating on 102.7
FM. They are
streaming online at rrr.org.au.
Triple R caters for a lot of musical tastes that are not represented anywhere else in Melbourne, including blues, folk, country, Australian, funk, jazz, latin, metal, punk, psychedelic, spoken word, and rock. It also has a wide range of topical shows on the paranormal, travel, new releases, arts, sport, comedy, film, marine and environment, medical issues, science, food, politics and PR.
In the midst of this huge commercialisation of the media, community radio and television is very important. These organisations are non-profit, so they are not at the mercy of their sponsors to get as large an audience as possible. They receive some funding from advertisers, a small amount from the government, and the majority from subscribers. The advertisements they do carry are actually relevant to their audience, so they are not annoying like the ones on commercial TV. Community radio is one of the great things Melbourne has to offer. But still, 71% of people are listening to commercial stations.