I wrote the other day on the state of Triple J after another Titanic ratings result in Newcastle and boy did I hit a nerve. Not just with Crikey readers, but across the internet.

While few could agree on what is wrong with Triple J, almost everyone agreed that there is a problem. Either it’s too commercial, or not commercial enough, playing too much sub-standard Aussie content, or not giving enough support to Aussie Bands.

How could a professional organisation like Triple J, with all the resources at its disposal and the goodwill of so many people, get it so wrong? How could they have such a huge base of passionate people who want to listen to them and feel good about the Triple J “Drum Brand” and yet be unable to find a formula to engage this audience? Why can’t they avoid an ongoing series of embarrassing ratings across the nation?

Such musings got me wondering if this is not incompetence at all, but part of a larger ABC plan. I have worked with some of these people; they are not that stupid, and it is really hard to screw up a radio station this badly. So is there something else going on?

The few times of late that Triple J staff have been interviewed by a newspaper — and only Fairfax papers seem to be talking to them, News Limited is far too commercially savvy to bother with this now floundering institution — when asked about the poor performance and disgruntlement with the station, they respond with a consistent message, as if reading from an internal staff memo.

The answers are “It’s about the Regions” and “Youth are moving away from tradition free-to-air media to internet, and that’s where our audience is”.

Up until this week I had thought these weak excuses. I mean don’t “yoof,” in the city deserve to have a taxpayer-funded station interact with them as much as their cousins in the bush? And how about all those young people who don’t have a access to Fibre to Node broadband with enough allowance to download the numerous JTV vodcasts, or even a digital set top box to watch it at a reasonable time on ABCTV2?

Surely Triple J couldn’t be this naïve. Regardless of what happens in the internet arena in the future or with the various multi-platform delivery methods, those big five free-to-air metropolitan FM signals, in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are still and will be long into the future their most valuable assets.

Anyone who was at the 75th Anniversary Party of the ABC would have noticed just how important Local Radio has become to the ABC; Triple J was represented by a few sad balloons in the corner while ABC Local Radio had banners Everywhere. It’s the jewel in the crown. Over the last ten years it has managed to avoid a natural disaster, particularly by adding younger listeners. With the help of American consultants, and big name talent like Red Symons in Melbourne, Local Radio has been extremely successful in the last five years. There is no doubt the only thing that counts to ABC Radio out of its five networks is local radio.

Insiders, however, say that for long-term survival, eventually ABC local radio will have to go FM. And I agree with them; the next lot of forty-year-olds who will grow into local radio’s target footprint grew up listening, ironically enough, to Triple J and other FM stations, and their ears are nowhere near as tolerant as the oldies’ to the static crackly sound of AM.

But where will the ABC get five brand new FM signals to deliver ABC local radio to the big five markets, given that no FM bandwidth is left, after the last round of new commercial and community stations?

Is it just possible that Triple J is doing its job just fine! That the core aims have changed, that it’s about the regions! The internet! And other multi-platform media environments, and for Triple J at least the metros can go to hell … Ahh I’m sorry, the metros can go to ABC Local Radio.