Andrew Olle Media Lecture

One of the regular highlights of my year is attending the Andrew Olle Media Lecture. Andrew was an Australian journalist who embodied so many of the great principles of journalism who died suddenly from a brain cancer, aged 47. Ever since, there’s been a black tie event and fundraiser for brain cancer research.

Though it wasn’t in the “main speech”, I was referenced in one of the speeches at last night’s event. “It was you, I was talking about”, Marty McCarthy told me later in the night.… Read the rest “Andrew Olle Media Lecture”

Olle Scholars

“OMG, I was in a meeting the other week, and I realised I was one of the ‘older people’ in the room”, I told a colleague earlier tonight. “I was no longer ‘the bright young thing’. I was now the ‘older senior advisor'”, I added. “The same thing is happening in my family”, I told him. One day you’re “on your way up” and wondering where you’re next career move will be; the next day you’re thinking “retirement and superannuation”.… Read the rest “Olle Scholars”

Andrew Olle Media Lecture

“Because I haven’t lived in Sydney before, I didn’t quite understand some of the references”, my friend Sue told a couple sitting at our table at last night’s Andrew Olle Media Lecture. Last night’s lecture was given by Kate McClymont, the Sydney Morning Herald investigative journalist who famously writes about crime and corruption in New South Wales. The woman in the couple then related a story about how she had purchased a house from one of the crime world figures mentioned in Kate’s speech.… Read the rest “Andrew Olle Media Lecture”

Andrew Olle Media Lecture

“Andrew was 47 when he died” noted Mark Colvin at this year’s Andrew Olle Media Lecture. At that point I turned to my friend Sue and whispered in her ear, “I turn 47 next Friday”.

A bit like the moon landing, the death of John Lennon and Princess Diana, I remember vividly where I was when Andrew Olle died. I was home in Lismore visiting family. “Did you know him”, my brother-in-law, Jack asked. “Yes, I did”, I told him, though not as closely as many of my colleagues who worked closely and directly with him.… Read the rest “Andrew Olle Media Lecture”