Andrew McMillen is the national music writer for The Australian newspaper and the author of Talking Smack: Honest Conversations about Drugs.
Andrew has been a particular inspiration for me over the last few years. I met him while attending Christmas drinks for The Australian’s Brisbane bureau in 2021, back when I worked as an intern on another podcast, Shandee’s Story. I remember being very, very nervous that night meeting some of my journalistic heroes, which include Andrew. His podcast from 2017, Penmanship, about Australian writing culture, featured several interviews with journalists which I found particularly inspiring for this podcast.
I reached out to Andrew in February seeking his advice on producing Bylines and I asked him if he’d be willing to be interviewed. He said yes, and we met in March in an unused office on the bottom level of News Corps Bowen Hills base in Brisbane. A note on the office: the once busy bottom level is now completely deserted and contains rows on rows of empty desks. It’s a relevant image of the state of Australian journalism today and its changing business models.
Fortunately, my chat with Andrew was far more positive. Andrew writes news and features stories on the Australian music industry, including longform pieces for The Weekend Australian magazine.
Our conversation touches on Andrew’s massive feature on former federal politician and Midnight Oil Frontman Peter Garret; the ‘weird’ experience of feature writing for a living; why he understands why some musicians don’t like talking about their songs; Andrew’s writing processes and the lessons he’s learned about writing; his early love of stories and music; how Andrew got his start in journalism by writing reviews on local concerts in exchange for free tickets; his years as a freelancer and what it takes to thrive in that field; and why Andrew still finds his job endlessly fascinating today.
Andrew's website: http://andrewmcmillen.com
Andrew's podcast, Penmanship: https://penmanshippodcast.com
Andrew's profile: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/andrew-mcmillen
For a full episode transcript and links to Andrew’s work visit our website: http://bylinespodcast.com
Tips or improvements? Email me: isaacirons14@gmail.com
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Sound production by Jonathan Koster: https://www.instagram.com/djjonnysounds
