Mark Colvin
Encyclopedia
Mark Colvin is an Australian journalist and broadcaster. Based in Sydney
, he is the presenter of PM
since 1997. PM is one of the flagship Australian radio current affairs programs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
network.
had a long history of service to Queen and country (and British Empire
), both in the military and administration. Mark Colvin is the son of John Horace Ragnar Colvin
, the Cold War
diplomat, and the grandson of Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin
, KBE
, CB
. He is the great-grandson of the India Office
mandarin
Clement Sneyd Colvin, whose father was John Russell Colvin
. John Russell, son of a East Indies
trader, ended up lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces of British India during the mutiny of 1857, had ten children and founded a dynasty of Empire-builders. Through this line, Mark Colvin's extended family includes Walter Mytton
and Auckland, also lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces and Oudh; Brenda
(1897–1981), an important landscape architect, author of standard works in the field and a force behind its professionalisation; and Sidney
, a critic, curator, and great friend of Robert Louis Stevenson
.
Through his mother, Elizabeth Anne Manifold , Colvin is the great-nephew of a Prime Minister of Australia
, Viscount Bruce of Melbourne
, who went on to be an international statesman and the first Chancellor of the Australian National University
. He is also the step-son of Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot
.
(Honours) in English literature and arrived in Australia in 1974. He commenced employment in January 1975 at the ABC's rock music station Double Jay (2JJ, now known as Triple J
) as one of the foundation staff, initially working as a cadet journalist. Whilst a 2JJ, he presented news, conducted interviews and produced current affairs and documentary specials up until 1978. With strong foreign language skills in French, Italian and Spanish, he was posted to the Canberra bureau and appointed a television news producer. A year later, he was one of the first reporters on Nationwide
, along with Jenny Brockie
, Paul Murphy
and Andrew Olle
.
Aged 28 years, in 1980, Colvin was appointed foreign correspondent
in London, and travelled to cover major stories including the American hostage crisis in Tehran and the rise of Solidarity in Poland. During his time covering the Middle East, Colvin was deeply affected by the death of his interpreter, Bahram Dehqani-Tafti, a secular Iranian murdered and dumped outside a Tehran prison. Colvin believed that the mullahs had a dispute with Dehqani-Tafti's father, a Christian bishop in exile in London. Colvin returned to Australia in 1983 and initially was reporter on both AM
and PM, before agitating for the establishment of a midday news and current affairs radio program. Colvin became the founding presenter of The World Today
on ABC radio. The following year, Colvin went to Brussels
as Europe correspondent, and covered the events right across the continent as the Cold War
began to thaw and the Gorbachev era began the process that would lead to the lifting of the Iron Curtain
.
Between 1988 and 1992, Colvin was a reporter for Four Corners, making programs focused on, inter alia, the French massacre of Kanaks in New Caledonia, the extinction of Australia's fauna and the Cambodian peace process. His feature on the Ethiopian famine won a Gold Medal at the New York Film Festival
and was runner-up for an International Emmy Award. In 1992, Colvin accepted another London posting, this time for television, mainly reporting for Foreign Correspondent
, the 7.30 Report and Lateline
. His language skills and long European experience paid off in stories such as his series of the relationship between Italian organised crime and government, which culminated in the trial of former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti
.
In 1994, Colvin was deployed by the 7.30 Report to Africa to cover the unfolding tragedy in Rwanda
. Travelling via Zaire
, he witnessed the extensive human tragedy there, in which approximately a million refugees were living in excrement and cholera
and dysentery
had become common-place. Colvin was taken ill with Wegener's granulomatosis, a rare inflammation of blood vessels, which nearly took his life. After several months in hospital, during his convalescence he became aware of a side effect of the treatment, his hip joints collapsed and both hips had to be replaced. He spent the next 18 months in Europe.
In 1997 Colvin returned to Sydney and commenced in his current role as presenter for ABC Radio's PM.
through interveiws with a number of media agencies including The Sydney Morning Herald
, The Australian
, The Drum, The 7.30 Report, and Life Matters.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, he is the presenter of PM
PM (ABC Radio)
PM is one of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship current-affairs radio programs, and is one of Australia's longest-running productions. It is the sister program to AM...
since 1997. PM is one of the flagship Australian radio current affairs programs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
network.
Family
The Colvin familyColvin family
The Colvin family, for the purposes of this article, are that group of people descended from James Colvin , a merchant trading between London and Calcutta during the East India Company. This Anglo-Indian family was intimately involved with the British Raj, first as traders and then as...
had a long history of service to Queen and country (and British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
), both in the military and administration. Mark Colvin is the son of John Horace Ragnar Colvin
John Horace Ragnar Colvin
John Horace Ragnar Colvin, CMG, was a British sailor, intelligence officer, banker and military historian.-Family:...
, the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
diplomat, and the grandson of Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin
Ragnar Colvin
Admiral Sir Ragnar Musgrave Colvin KBE, CB was a long-serving British naval officer who commanded the Royal Australian Navy at the outbreak of the Second World War.-Early life and background:...
, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. He is the great-grandson of the India Office
India Office
The India Office was a British government department created in 1858 to oversee the colonial administration of India, i.e. the modern-day nations of Bangladesh, Burma, India, and Pakistan, as well as territories in South-east and Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the east coast of Africa...
mandarin
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
Clement Sneyd Colvin, whose father was John Russell Colvin
John Russell Colvin
John Russell Colvin, Esq. was a British civil servant in India, part of the illustrious Anglo-Indian Colvin family. He was lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces of British India during the mutiny of 1857, at the height of which he died.-Life:Colvin's was an Anglo-Indian family of...
. John Russell, son of a East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
trader, ended up lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces of British India during the mutiny of 1857, had ten children and founded a dynasty of Empire-builders. Through this line, Mark Colvin's extended family includes Walter Mytton
Walter Mytton Colvin
Sir Walter Mytton Colvin was a British lawyer and colonial administrator, part of the illustrious Anglo-Indian Colvin family....
and Auckland, also lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces and Oudh; Brenda
Brenda Colvin
Brenda Colvin CBE was an important British landscape architect, author of standard works in the field and a force behind its professionalisation. She was part of the Colvin family, which had long ties to the British Raj. She was born in India where her father, Sir Elliot Graham Colvin, was a...
(1897–1981), an important landscape architect, author of standard works in the field and a force behind its professionalisation; and Sidney
Sidney Colvin
Sidney Colvin was an English curator and literary and art critic, part of the illustrious Anglo-Indian Colvin family. He is primarily remembered for his friendship with Robert Louis Stevenson.-Biography:...
, a critic, curator, and great friend of Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
.
Through his mother, Elizabeth Anne Manifold , Colvin is the great-nephew of a Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, Viscount Bruce of Melbourne
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
, who went on to be an international statesman and the first Chancellor of the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. He is also the step-son of Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot
Anthony Synnot
Admiral Sir Anthony Monckton Synnot KBE, AO was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, who between 1979 and 1982 served as Chief of the Defence Force Staff.-Early life:...
.
Career as a journalist and broadcaster
Colvin graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(Honours) in English literature and arrived in Australia in 1974. He commenced employment in January 1975 at the ABC's rock music station Double Jay (2JJ, now known as Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
) as one of the foundation staff, initially working as a cadet journalist. Whilst a 2JJ, he presented news, conducted interviews and produced current affairs and documentary specials up until 1978. With strong foreign language skills in French, Italian and Spanish, he was posted to the Canberra bureau and appointed a television news producer. A year later, he was one of the first reporters on Nationwide
Nationwide (TV series)
Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
, along with Jenny Brockie
Jenny Brockie
Jenny Brockie is an Australian journalist and documentary-maker, currently working as the host for the SBS program, Insight.Brockie has spent more than twenty years in broadcasting, reporting both nationally and internationally for ABC current affairs programs including Four Corners and...
, Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy (Australian journalist)
Paul Murphy is a renowned Australian political journalist. He is the brother of Australian journalist Justin Murphy.Murphy began his TV career as a reporter for the pioneering Australian nightly ABC-TV current affairs program This Day Tonight, which premiered in 1967 and he worked as a senior...
and Andrew Olle
Andrew Olle
John Andrew Durrant Olle , always known as Andrew Olle, was a radio and television presenter on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, beginning his career in 1967 as a news cadet and, until his death, working in a wide variety of programs, including The 7.30 Report, ABC Radio 2BL, Sydney,...
.
Aged 28 years, in 1980, Colvin was appointed foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
in London, and travelled to cover major stories including the American hostage crisis in Tehran and the rise of Solidarity in Poland. During his time covering the Middle East, Colvin was deeply affected by the death of his interpreter, Bahram Dehqani-Tafti, a secular Iranian murdered and dumped outside a Tehran prison. Colvin believed that the mullahs had a dispute with Dehqani-Tafti's father, a Christian bishop in exile in London. Colvin returned to Australia in 1983 and initially was reporter on both AM
AM (ABC Radio)
AM, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship current-affairs radio program, is one of Australia's longest-running productions. Its tagline is Ensure you are informed.-History and timeslots:...
and PM, before agitating for the establishment of a midday news and current affairs radio program. Colvin became the founding presenter of The World Today
The World Today
BBC World News is the standard news bulletin featuring the latest international news broadcast throughout most of the day on BBC World News. Some editions also feature brief business and sport reports as well...
on ABC radio. The following year, Colvin went to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
as Europe correspondent, and covered the events right across the continent as the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
began to thaw and the Gorbachev era began the process that would lead to the lifting of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
.
Between 1988 and 1992, Colvin was a reporter for Four Corners, making programs focused on, inter alia, the French massacre of Kanaks in New Caledonia, the extinction of Australia's fauna and the Cambodian peace process. His feature on the Ethiopian famine won a Gold Medal at the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
and was runner-up for an International Emmy Award. In 1992, Colvin accepted another London posting, this time for television, mainly reporting for Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Correspondent (TV series)
Foreign Correspondent is a weekly Australian documentary series and current affairs program screened on ABC1, Tuesday at . Premiering at on Saturday 14 March 1992, the aim is to give informed information about the happenings in other countries either on the light side of life or during crisis.-...
, the 7.30 Report and Lateline
Lateline
Lateline is an Australian television news and current affairs program produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, airing weeknights at on ABC1. The program has developed a reputation for head-to-head debates on current issues and political interviews. Lateline is followed by its sister...
. His language skills and long European experience paid off in stories such as his series of the relationship between Italian organised crime and government, which culminated in the trial of former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...
.
In 1994, Colvin was deployed by the 7.30 Report to Africa to cover the unfolding tragedy in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
. Travelling via Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, he witnessed the extensive human tragedy there, in which approximately a million refugees were living in excrement and cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
had become common-place. Colvin was taken ill with Wegener's granulomatosis, a rare inflammation of blood vessels, which nearly took his life. After several months in hospital, during his convalescence he became aware of a side effect of the treatment, his hip joints collapsed and both hips had to be replaced. He spent the next 18 months in Europe.
In 1997 Colvin returned to Sydney and commenced in his current role as presenter for ABC Radio's PM.
Organ donation ambassador
During 2010, Colvin worked to raise the profile of organ donationOrgan donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
through interveiws with a number of media agencies including The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
, The Drum, The 7.30 Report, and Life Matters.