Triple j‘s beloved movie reviewer, Marc Fennell, has announced that he is leaving the station after being That. Movie. Guy. “for almost [his] entire adult life”.
Announcing his departure this morning, Fennell said that after roughly 734 reviews over 11 years, he thinks “now is the time for someone new”.
In a blog post written during a late-night editing session, Fennell says, “In the last decade I’ve spent way, way too many nights like this at the ABC finishing off a review after a long week making [SBS‘] The Feed, [ABC‘s] Download This Show or [ABC‘s] Hungry Beast before them. So, sitting here for this Major Life Turning Point™ all by myself in the silent dead of night seems… about right.”
Fennell has thanked triple j and its listeners for their support over the years, despite the station’s obvious shortcomings.
“Sure, they played a bit more Jack Johnson than any of us would like to admit, but – look – everyone fucks up occasionally,” he says.
“I walked into triple j when I was 20 and the fact that they haven’t fired me in the last decade has been both an absolute shock and probably a testament to how cheap I am to employ.
“It may have only been a little two-minute piece of radio that I made but I still count myself so lucky. So lucky that I found triple j when I did as a teenager. So lucky to broadcast to the best audience in Australia.
“Ask anyone: there’s no group quite like triple j listeners. You are an engaged, passionate, weirdly-Tool obsessed cohort of sexy motherfuckers and I can’t wait to hear which one of you takes over from me.”
Fennell says triple j is currently on the hunt for someone to replace him, who he hopes will “rip up the sound and format that I created for myself”.
“You should absolutely go apply. Be that person who decides the way we *should* be talking about movies and TV in 2017. Make it your own. Make it awesome,” he says.
Fennell says he’ll continue to bring the best cult movies to viewers on SBS Viceland, and will still be hosting interviews and writing reviews about film for The Feed. He says he’s also helping launch a new project with Junkee shortly, as well as a new not-for-profit called Media Diversity Australia.
“I’ve always said that my triple j reviews were the beginning of a conversation that you guys get to finish,” he says.
“Right now, I’m thinking about what the next evolution of that might look like. I have some plans for something completely different and new. I’m also keen to hear what you want.”
Read Marc Fennell’s announcement in full right here.
