Ep 14 - Marc Fennel talks about his career and creative process; from interviewing news makers on The Feed to chasing chillis around the World in story telling and production
Marc Fennell is an Australian interviewer, journalist, tv/radio presenter, author and Rose d’Or nominated documentary maker. He’s also a very kind chap with an infectiously bubbly disposition. In November, he generously cut me out an hour of his time to chat in a park about his illustrious life and career journey to date.
He’s worked with with nearly every big Ozzy broadcaster you can think of and has hosted the national current affairs programme, The Feed for SBS Australia since 2013.
Marc was introduced to global audiences this year when his Audible original podcast It Burns: The Scandal-Plagued Race to Breed the World’s Hottest Chilli shot up the Audible USA charts. At the time of writing, it has received over 6,500 reviews!
He’s reported all around the world, from the 2019 Hong Kong Protests to survivors of ISIS torture and Marc’s one-on-one interviews with celebrities and newsmakers like Al Gore, Tom Cruise and Julian Assange have garnered over 30 million online views and 3 United Nations Media Award Nominations.
Marc presents the award-winning ABC Australia podcast Download This Show, SBS Australia’s The Few Who Do and has written 2 books on all things movies. He’s the Creative Director of the not-for-profit group Media Diversity Australia, was named one of the 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians and was even dubbed “a cheerful Aussie version of Louis Theroux” by The Times (UK).
In short he’s an epic guy and I was bloody lucky to sit down for a chat with him!!
We cover so much in our conversation; from Marc’s beginnings as an interviewer- just being ‘that approachable looking kid’ at school, to his creative process; how he finds and develops stories, prepares for interviews and even how he attempts to keep balance today, juggling his multitude of jobs with family life.
Keep up with his exciting upcoming projects by following him on his instagram @marcfennel