That sleeping giant of Australia's media scene...

Although a sleeping giant of Australia's media scene, Hugo Kelly has not had a brain operation which damaged his pituitary gland, and is therefore not actually gigantic. He agreed to answer some questions for the diversion of my readers.

Me: Tell our readers about your early career in journalism, Hugo
HK: At 17, the venerable editor of Melbourne's Age newspaper, Creighton Burns, took a gamble on me. I was offered a cadetship at the Spencer Street broadsheet, which at that time basked in the reputation as one of the world's top ten papers. These were heady days, as I learned the craft at the knee of journalism legends such as Peter MacFarlane, Ronnie "The Rat" Carter and Tony "The King" Bourke on the sports desk. Sports editor Michael Gordon, a future multi-Walkley award winner, forged a keen team of young guns, including future Bulletin editor Garry Linnell, Harvey Silver - who went on to create Eddie McGuire's "Footy Show" - and Martin "The Gazelle" Blake. I soon came under the wing of legendary press gallery doyenne Michelle Grattan, when he was posted to The Age's Canberra bureau at 19.

Me: what was the highlight of your early years in Canberra?
HK: Rubbing shoulders with press gallery luminaries like Mungo MacCallum under the trees in the non-members' bar was a seminal experience which helped soak up the moisture from behind the ears of this young cub. Another highlight was my exclusive interview with the Queen on her 1988 visit to inaugurate the new Parliament House.

Me: What did you ask the Queen?
HK: While she was in town, she visited Canberra race track for the Bicentennial Stakes, won by the Tommy Smith champion, Balmerino. After the race, as Her Majesty went to present the trophy, I engaged her in possibly the shortest interview of her career, asking her "did you back the winner, Your Majesty?". The Age reported next day that the Queen "gave a slight regal nod" and quickly moved on.

Me: So tell me, Hugo, is Paul Kelly (political editor of The Australian) any relation?
HK: No, but he once offered me a job. I was a lowly D-grade reporter in The Age's Canberra bureau, the Oz was looking for people to underpay, and I accepted an offer of a C-grading to cross the corridor to the Murdoch empire. The Age's new editor Mike Smith wanted me back in Melbourne, but I'd fallen for politics. In the end, Mike matched The Australian's offer, and gave me the sought-after transport round back in Melbourne.

Me: The transport round, hey? Trams and trains, sounds exciting...
HK: As a matter of fact, Bek, my time in transport coincided with two of the biggest industrial disputes of the 1980s, the 1989 tram strike which ground public transport in Melbourne to a halt during the hectic Christmas period, and the national pilots' dispute. But the round also had an international flavour. I well remember decamping to Paris to cover the Le Bourget Air Show - I was on the spot sipping Moet in the Aerospatiale tent when a Russian MiG 29 fighter jet crashed just 100 metres away. Surviving this narrow brush with death with nary a spilled drop of bubbly, I filed my front-page report just on deadline (at least for the second edition).

Me: Goodness! A narrow brush with death, indeed! I hope your next assignment was less dangerous?
HK: After a stint as environment reporter, I was appointed to the State political desk, to witness the disintegration of the disastrous Kirner State Government.

Me: And that would have ushered in the dark years of the Kennett regime?
HK: There are some who would mistakenly label me a die-in-a-ditch supporter of the Labor Party, but I sought a balanced approach to my political reporting. The Cain/Kirner years induced a mild depression in Victoria, which Kennett attacked vigorously. Sadly, instead of using a stethoscope to diagnose the malaise and seeking to bring the people with him, Kennett wielded a chainsaw.

Me: Didn't you confirm your Labor bias by becoming ALP Deputy PM Brian Howe's press secretary? (not that there's anything wrong with having a Labor bias)
HK: Absolutely! Labor's much more fun than the Tories, and Brian said he wanted an investigative journalist on his staff rather than simply a PR flak.

Me: Sounds like the logical next move after politics, PR flakkery?
HK: Very perceptive, Bek.
Me: Well, it seems to be what all you lot did.
HK: It was Sydney, it was 1995, and it was the middle of a property boom. Setting myself up in PR, I quickly discovered that's where the business was in sin city.

Me: You went from the venal to the slightly ridiculous, with your involvement in Crikey then didn't you?
HK: It might have seemed ridiculous at the time, but back then there was a crazy-brave logic to it. I wanted to get back to Melbourne, but not while Kennett was running the place.

Me: So you overthrew the Kennett Government because you wanted to move back to Melbourne?
HK: Pretty much. But don't forget, Crikey's not just about me. Back in 1999 Stephen (Mayne) was working in Sydney too (for the Fin Review) and, together, we hatched a plan that ended up succeeding - amazingly - but not in the way we imagined. And with consequences for both of us that we couldn't have predicted.

Me: Aside from your eclectic contributions to Crikey, what do you like to do with your time?
HK: Bek, I don't have a lot of spare time, but I do enjoy tenpin bowling, ice-skating, enjoying your fine cuisine, and sleep comes naturally to me.

Me: Thanks for talking to us Hugo.
HK: My pleasure Bek, and Merry Christmas to you and your readers.