Broadsheet, Australia and New Zealand’s go-to culture guide has appointed three new editors to its national editorial team.
Michael Harry joins Broadsheet as national editor reporting to editorial director Katya Wachtel and managing the Cities team. Grace Mackenzie has taken up the Sydney food and drink editor role, and Audrey Payne is the Melbourne food and drink editor. Grace and Audrey will report to Michael, alongside features editor Emma Joyce (on maternity leave) and national assistant editor (Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth) Lucy Bell Bird.
Michael comes to Broadsheet from Hardie Grant Books, where he was the food and lifestyle publisher responsible for commissioning cookbooks by top Australian chefs including Josh Niland, Andrew McConnell, Jo Barrett and Adam Liaw. Prior to that, Michael was editor of The Age Good Food Guide, 2022 and held positions as lifestyle editor at Good Weekend and national editor at Executive Style.
Michael will manage the Broadsheet newsroom and lead Broadsheet’s news and features coverage nationally. As the strategic lead on news and features, Michael will work with senior editorial leadership, and other department heads, to continue to grow and more deeply engage Broadsheet’s audience.
Grace Mackenzie comes to Broadsheet from Concrete Playground, where she was the branded content manager and writer. Before that, she was a sub-editor and writer for Gourmet Traveller and a freelance writer, editor and fact-checker for various publications and books.
Audrey Payne spent seven years working and studying in New York, most recently as a content strategist and editor at Cherry Bombe, an New York City-based magazine and media company dedicated to women in food and drink.
As Sydney and Melbourne food and drink editors, Grace and Audrey respectively are responsible for driving coverage of Sydney and Melbourne dining scenes and communities, and for delivering on Broadsheet’s promise to be an unparalleled resource on Sydney and Melbourne’s culture and city life.
Michael Harry said: “As a long-time reader of Broadsheet I’m so excited to join the business as national editor. It’s such a talented and passionate team producing the best city and culture content in the country, exploring new directions in digital, podcast, video, social and print. The role also allows me to indulge my chicken sandwich addiction in the name of research. Does it get any better?”.
Katya Wachtel commented on the appointments: “I’m thrilled for Michael, Audrey, and Grace to join the Broadsheet editorial team. Their combined and diverse experiences in food and lifestyle media makes them an impressive trio whose creative ideas are already influencing our editorial output.
“I can’t wait to see what they bring to each of their roles and our coverage of culture – and those who drive it – in Australia.”
