Mark, 51, has held his television job for eight years, but will soon take up a new position as media manager for the Victorian Opposition leader.
He says he has enjoyed the highly competitive sports reporting game but has always had an interest in politics.
He was introduced to politics when reporting on the monthly Nathalia Shire Council meetings for the Shepparton News, driving up to the Broken Creek town in his Datsun 200B sedan in the 1990s.
For the first few months of his job he had to ride a bike from the centre of town out to the Melbourne Rd, Kialla offices, having given up a job as a bank teller for his dream of being a reporter.
“I just never thought I had a chance of getting into the papers,” Mark recalled this week.
“There were lots of other Melbourne university students lining up to get on.”
“I'm grateful to the editor of the day, Robert McLean, for giving me a job, and taking a chance on me.”
His first story was interviewing the newly-elected junior council mayor.
He moved from general news to sports under the tutelage of sports editor Noel Hussey, and endured the clouds of cigarette smoke generated by the reporters, and the regular pizzas delivered to help press on during late nights.
Mark married Invergordon orchardist's daughter Jane Wallace, and had the privilege of having the first reception held at Katunga's Monichino's winery. True to their country roots, they spent their first married night at a farm-stay accommodation.
After four years with the News, Mark moved to the Sunday Herald Sun and then the daily Herald Sun where he worked with characters like Scott Palmer and Mike Sheehan before scoring a job with Channel Seven.
Mark and Jane were shaken in February by his diagnosis with stage one bowel cancer. He had a colonoscopy to get to the bottom of symptoms and he got the news he would require surgery just minutes before he did a live cross on Channel Seven. He took a minute to get himself straight and faced up to the cameras
The subsequent surgery was successful and has had clear results since.
He is a great believer in bowel cancer tests and urges all men to get tested early.
Mark and Jane have a son, Will, 18, and daughter, Josie, 16. Mark's mother, Joy, still lives in Shepparton.
Mark will be starting work on Spring St, Melbourne, on July 12.
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