3AW’s Neil Mitchell reflects on high and lows after 30 years behind the microphone

NEIL Mitchell has covered many breaking news, top rating interviews and political dramas over three decades on radio — but it’s the grassroots stories that have had the greatest impact on him.

OF all the breaking news, top-rating interviews and political dramas Neil Mitchell has covered over three decades on radio — it’s the grassroots stories that have had the greatest impact on him.

KATE RICHIE, NEIL MITCHELL DOMINATE RADIO AWARDS

Like Tyler Fishlock, the little boy who lost his sight but couldn’t wipe the smile off his face when the players from Richmond Football Club show­ed up.

Or Mikayla Francis, who stole the hearts of Victorians when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and told her parents she feared being forgotten.

Mitchell helped organise her a fairy party and just about everybody showed up.

“It’s those little campaigns that stand out,” he said.

This year is Mitchell’s 30th behind the microphone after he quit as editor of the Herald and stepped in to cover the drive slot for Derryn Hinch.

He would eventually earn the priz­ed morning spot, navigating the iss­ues each day and campaigning to end bureaucracy and red tape.

Most memorably, Mitchell led the charge to scratch $26 million worth of fines issued by faulty fixed speed cameras on the Western Ring Road.

Talkback announcer Neil Mitchell at work in 1995. Picture: Supplied.

There have been big stories too — the shootings at Port Arthur, Walsh St and the Bali bombings.

And all those memorable mom­ents some interviewees wished they could forget — Test cricketer Kim Hughes famously hung up on him.

His relationships with former pol­ice chiefs Simon Overland and Chris­tine Nixon remain fragile.

He’s not very popular within the ranks of the CFMEU and suspects he’s off Premier Daniel Andrews’ Christmas card list.

Neil Mitchell is marking 30 years on radio. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Former prime minsters Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and Julia Gill­ard have all given him a wide berth and only last year, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop nervously unra­velled during a live studio interview when Mitchell pressed her to explain the Federal Government’s transition to retirement scheme.

“Well, Neil, this is obviously a got­cha moment ... it’s not my portfolio,” she said.

He said he never set out to ruffle feathers, but certainly didn’t mind when he did.

“It’s all part of the job,” he said. “I don’t think you have a duty to scratch anybody’s back.”

Mitchell, 65, said he had always appreciated the power of the media and the ability to make a difference in the lives of others.

“In radio you can harness the audience, if you hit the right nerve, you can have a campaign for a better outcome up and running within minutes,” he said.

In his downtime, he prefers the quiet life at home.

He reads books but confesses it is more often for research.

He said a simple wander through Melbourne’s markets was one of the best ways to unwind.

“I love wandering around Prahran market, usually early Saturday morning,’’ he said.

“The smells, the sight of all that fresh food, the optimism of the day and the coffee to kick start me are just a great way to start the weekend.

When he's not in the studio veteran broadcaster Neil Mitchell likes wandering through the Prahran Market and visits his favourite fruiterer, John Narduzzo at Pino's Fruiterer. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

”I consider several of the traders as friends after going there for years and we always have a good gossip as I’m shopping.

“Believe me, there is no way you can have tickets on yourself in that sort of place. It is grounding and good fun. Real people with real lives and a good sense of what matters in the world,” he said.

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