Mark Colvin

Mark Colvin
Born	(1952-03-13) 13 March 1952
Died	11 May 2017(2017-05-11) (aged 65) Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia
Occupation(s)	Journalist, broadcaster
Years active	1974–2017
Known for	Presenter of ABC Radio's PM program

Mark Colvin (13 March 1952 – 11 May 2017) was a prominent Australian journalist and broadcaster affiliated with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), recognized for his contributions to leading current affairs programs. Operating out of Sydney, he served as the presenter of ABC Radio’s flagship current affairs show PM from 1997 until 2017.

Professional journey in journalism and broadcasting

Colvin earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English literature from Christ Church, Oxford University, before relocating to Australia in 1974. Initially employed as a builder’s labourer, he was steered towards journalism through assistance from the employment office. That same year, he commenced a traineeship at the ABC and by January 1975 became part of the original team at Double Jay (2JJ, now Triple J), ABC’s rock music radio station, working as a cadet journalist. During his tenure there until 1978, he delivered news bulletins, conducted interviews, and produced current affairs and documentary programming. Proficient in French, Italian, and Spanish, Colvin was assigned to the Canberra bureau as a television news producer and emerged as one of the inaugural reporters on Nationwide.

At just 28 years old in 1980, Colvin took on the role of foreign correspondent based in London. His coverage included significant international events such as the American hostage situation in Tehran and the emergence of Solidarity in Poland. His Middle East conflict reporting was deeply affected by the loss of his interpreter during his assignment in Iran.

Upon returning to Australia in 1983, he contributed reports to AM and PM, subsequently establishing the midday news program The World Today. In 1984, he was appointed Europe correspondent stationed in Brussels amid critical Cold War developments. Between 1988 and 1992, Colvin worked on Four Corners, producing acclaimed features on subjects including the famine in Ethiopia and tensions in New Caledonia. He returned to London in 1992 to report for television programs such as Foreign Correspondent, 7.30 Report, and Lateline, focusing notably on Italian organized crime and political corruption.

In 1994, while covering the Rwandan genocide for the 7.30 Report, Colvin witnessed severe humanitarian crises coinciding with his diagnosis of granulomatosis with polyangiitis—a rare inflammatory disease affecting blood vessels—that nearly claimed his life. Following intensive treatment and hip replacement surgeries necessitated by medication side effects, he spent eighteen months recuperating in Europe.

Colvin resumed his broadcasting career in 1997 as host of ABC Radio’s PM. In November 2017, he was honored posthumously with induction into The Australian Media Hall of Fame.

Organ transplantation

On 22 March 2013, Colvin underwent a kidney transplant involving a living donor. Both Colvin and the medical facility permitted documentation of the procedure for television broadcast.

During an interview aired on 1 May 2013, it was disclosed that his donor was Mary-Ellen Field, whom Colvin had met while reporting on victims affected by the News of the World/News International phone hacking scandal. Field had suffered unwanted media attention after her professional association with Elle Macpherson was revealed through phone hacking investigations, resulting in her termination. The two had maintained correspondence since 2011; Field chose to donate without initially informing her spouse. They even contemplated nicknaming the transplanted kidney "Rupert" as a reference to Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corporation, owner of News of the World. Colvin declared this potential conflict of interest to his employer and ceased reporting on Field.

In 2010, Colvin actively promoted awareness about organ donation through interviews with various media outlets including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Drum, The 7.30 Report, and Life Matters.

Stage production

The narrative of Colvin's kidney donation was brought to life in the theatrical work Mark Colvin's Kidney, penned by playwright Tommy Murphy. This production was staged by Sydney's Belvoir and directed by David Berthold. The ensemble included John Howard portraying Colvin and Sarah Peirse taking on the role of Mary-Ellen Field.

Memoir

Colvin released his memoir, Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a Spy's Son, in 2016, offering a detailed look into his personal experiences and family background.

Family

The Colvin family has a distinguished tradition of serving in military and administrative roles within Australia and the British Empire. Colvin's father, John Horace Ragnar Colvin, was a diplomat during the Cold War era and the grandson of Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin. Mark Colvin himself was the great-grandson of Clement Sneyd Colvin from the India Office, whose father, John Russell Colvin, held the position of lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces during the 1857 Indian Rebellion. This ancestry also includes prominent individuals such as Walter Mytton Colvin, Auckland Colvin—who also served as lieutenant-governor of both the North-West Provinces and Oudh—landscape architect Brenda Colvin (1897–1981), and Sidney Colvin, a literary critic and curator closely linked with Robert Louis Stevenson.

On his maternal side, Elizabeth Anne Manifold, Colvin was a great-great-nephew of Australian Prime Minister Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, an international diplomat and the inaugural Chancellor of the Australian National University. Additionally, he was stepson to Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot.

Colvin was married twice; his second marriage in 1987 was to Michele Francesca McKenzie, who is the mother of his two sons, Nicolas and William.

Passing

Colvin passed away on 11 May 2017 at the age of 65 at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick. His death came more than two decades after he was diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a rare autoimmune disease that led to kidney failure in 2011. Although he underwent a successful kidney transplant, he was later diagnosed with melanoma and shortly before Easter 2017 discovered he had inoperable lung cancer. In accordance with his wishes, donations in remembrance were directed to the Prince of Wales Hospital Foundation.