2SER

Fourth Estate

News EN ↓ 400 episodes

Every week, we discuss how the media has covered the news and analyse issues affecting the industry - with some of the biggest names in journalism in Australia and around the world. Broadcast live on Sydney's 2SER 107.3FM, with the financial assistance of the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

Author

2SER

Category

News

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

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Episodes

Did the media just change the PM? 30.08.2018

The recriminations and anger are still being felt around the country after another PM has been ruthlessly cut down. So on Fourth Estate we asked did sections of the media play a part? To make sense of the events of last week we are joined by Monica Attard, Jamie Smyth, Damien Cave and Nick O'Malley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

US Media, Tonightly, Trial by Media and Fairfax 16.08.2018

After being attacked and bullied by Trump the US media has decided to fight back - is it too little too late? Tonightly has been axed - was it a programming decision or a political one? We also look at trial by media - has the media over stepped the line with its coverage of Emma Husar and Ben Roberts Smith? Fairfax has possibly booked its last full year result and it was a loss - we unpack it and...

Bolt, Sky News, Buzzfeed and ABC Life 09.08.2018

This week we look at Andrew Bolt's attack on immigration, the fall out from Sky News and that interview of Blair Cottrell, Buzzfeed's story on Emma Husar and ABC Life goes live. To help us navigate our way through all this we are joined by Ben Doherty from the Guardian, Kathleen Calderwood from the ABC and Cara Waters from the Age and SMH. Your host this week is Anthony Dockrill. Learn more about...

SMH strikes back, Guardian in the money and Goodbye Lee Lin Chin 02.08.2018

As the news sinks in about Fairfax we take a closer look at what it means for quality journalism and we also look at the Guardian making a profit in OZ. To help us make sense of all of this Anthony Dockrill spoke with Michael Roddan from the Australia, Michael Koziol from SMH and the Age and Margaret Simons from Monash University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nine and Fairfax Merge 26.07.2018

Shock waves were felt around the country this morning with the news that Channel Nine and Fairfax are merging. To unpack what this means for journalism and for Fairfax we have a bumper edition with Darren Goodsir, Emily Watkins, Amanda Wilson, Marcus Strom, Tim Burrowes, Darren Davidson and David Skapinker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thai Cave Rescue, Trump, Sky News and Print 19.07.2018

This edition of the Fourth Estate looks at the media coverage of the Thai Cave Rescue and Donald Trump, the ratings of Sky News and the sharing printing facilities by Fairfax and News Ltd. Also discussed is the sudden resignation of Michael Ebeid and his lasting legacy on SBS. To dissect this fractured media world, Alan Moir (SMH) and Remy Varga (The Australian) were in the studio and Paul Karp (T...

Murdoch, Murphy, Ch7 and a Former News Corp CEO 12.07.2018

This edition of the Fourth Estate looks at the legacy of Rupert Murdoch and Katharine Murphy's essay 'On Disruption'. We also look at Channel 7's 'racist' segment about African Gangs in Victoria, Fairfax's criticism of ABC's online news website and the appointment of Former News Corp CEO Peter Tonagh to run the Government's efficiency review on the public broadcasters ABC and SBS. To dissect this...

Podcast Extra - Katharine Murphy - On Disruption 10.07.2018

Political Editor for the Guardian Australia, Katharine Murphy, dropped by for a long chat with Peter Fray about her new book called On Disruption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google News, Journalists Killed, Sky Falls 05.07.2018

This edition of the Fourth Estate looks at the relationship between multimedia platforms, public interest journalist and the impact of news aggregators. We also look at the role right-wing rhetoric had on the Capital Gazette newsroom shooting in America, Sky News' covering of David Leyonhjelm's comments about Greens Senator Sarah Hanson Young and Nauru's ban on the ABC. To discuss this all we have...

Podcast extra - Henry Ergas and Public Interest Journalism 03.07.2018

The Australian columnist, Professor Henry Ergas AO, speaks with Peter Fray about public information journalism and the impact of news aggregators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Male journalists on social, Huckabee Sanders, Natalie Joyce and the ABC 28.06.2018

According to a study by the International Journal of Press/Politics, male political journalists based in Washington DC only reply 8.5 per cent of the time to female political journalists. Why is it that female journalists are less influential on Twitter than men in Washington DC and does this relate to a bigger picture here in Australia? Plus, we discuss the Sarah Huckabee Sanders fine-dining deba...

ABC for sale, Guthrie's stand, Digital News and China 21.06.2018

This edition of Fourth Estate looks at if the ABC will and should be sold, was Michelle Guthrie's speech enough to change the political narrative on the ABC. We also look at the state of digital media in Australia and is the media to blame for the poor relations between Australia and China. To discuss all this we have our host Peter Fray speaking with Quentin Dempster (New Daily) , Sarah Vogler (C...

Corporate hurt feelings, Trust and Shorten's ABC 15.06.2018

This edition of Fourth Estate looks at suggested changes to defamation law including should our corporations being allowed to sue. We also look at trust and the media and Bill Shorten promises to restore ABC funding. To discuss all this we have our host Anthony Dockrill talking to Dana McCauley (The Australian), Olivia Willis (ABC) and Rachel Eddie (The New Daily). Learn more about your ad choices...

ABC, China, National Security and ho hum Barnaby 07.06.2018

This edition of the Fourth Estate looks at the ABC and the Government in a tangle over the 6th complaint in 5 months. China gives the cold shoulder to our journalists. Foreign Espionage bill may be getting closer to coming into law so what does this mean for Australian journalists. Barnaby Joyce's much hyped paid interview fails to set the ratings on fire. To discuss all this we have our host Pete...

Chequebook journalism, Facebook, Roseanne and the Logies 31.05.2018

This edition of Fourth Estate looks at Barnaby Joyce's paid interview on Ch7, Facebook blocking the Cancer Council from taking out ads for bowel cancer, Roseanne Barr blowing up on twitter and how the Logies my have got it wrong on Don Burke. To discuss all this host Anthony Dockrill was joined by Gina Rushton (Buzzfeed), Emily Watkins (Crikey) and Michael Owen (The Australian). Learn more about y...

Australian media bashing 24.05.2018

This episode is all about some of the Australian media's favourite targets: China, the banks and journalists. To discuss the current trends in how the media is talking about our foreign relationships, the banking royal commission and more, host Peter Fray was joined by Emma Alberici (ABC), Chris Kenny (Australian) and Ben Eltham (New Matilda). This episode was produced by Ninah Kopel in the studio...

The not good bloke, a billion deleted accounts and a wedding. 17.05.2018

Described as the worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996, murders in Margaret River have dominated this weeks’ media. So did journalists do the story justice, or overstep the mark? Plus Facebook shut down around one billion fake accounts in six months. But has it won back any support for the social media platform? And the Royal wedding is around the corner. But do we care? To di...

Podcast extra: a day in the life at Gitmo 17.05.2018

Debi Cornwall calls herself a conceptual documentary artist, and has come to Australia to share her collection ‘ Welcome to Camp America: Inside Guantánamo Bay’ at Head On Photo Festival. Her work takes you inside the U.S. Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, revealing a side of life on Gitmo you may not have seen before. But when the line between art and real life is blurred, how much can we learn th...

Criminalising journalism in Australia 10.05.2018

The 2018 budget will bring $84 million worth of cuts to the ABC over three years. So is this a big deal for the national broadcaster? Plus the  draft law that could see Australian journalists locked up for 20 years, just for doing their job.  And the sex column in a college paper that ventured into the realm of academic advice and rubbed some people the wrong way.  Andrew Fowler ( Author and ex AB...

Podcast extra: Friends of the ABC responds to budget cuts 09.05.2018

The 2018 budget has been released into the world, and brings bad news for the nation’s public broadcaster. The government will freeze indexation of the ABC from July of 2019, which is set to cost the broadcaster $84 million over three years. To understand what this might mean for how the ABC operates, Peter Fray caught up for a coffee with Professor Ed Davis, President of the NSW and ATC committee...

ABC's Buzzfeed, a mighty correction, twitter bots and a roast 03.05.2018

Will Osman Faruqi and the ABC's mysterious new Buzzfeed-style "vertical" spark more inquiries by senate estimates? The story that sparked Fairfax's big Anzac retraction treads the line of misplaced facts and myth-making. And Labor senator Kimberley Kitching may have hitched up some Russian twitterbot followers but exactly whose stalking horses are they? Alex McKinnon (Saturday Paper), Sam Langford...

A Pulitzer, the banks and Mamamia 26.04.2018

He won a Pulitzer Prize for his photography of the violence during Charlottesville race protests, but now he works in a brewery. So how can we keep talented people in journalism? Plus Anzac Day has come and gone, but what message did it leave behind? We also look at the abortion story Mamamia got wrong and whether they were right to pull it. All this and more discussed by our panelists Miranda Dev...

Podcast extra: Gabriel Sherman on politics, media and where the two meet 23.04.2018

Gabriel Sherman is author of the New York Times bestselling biography, 'Loudest Voice in the Room' , about Fox News founder Roger Ailes. He is also a Vanity Fair special correspondent, and previously was national-affairs editor at New York Magazine. He’s heading over to Australia soon for Sydney Writer’s Festival where he will join panels discussing how the news has changed and the Murdoch media e...

C-bomb sinks journo, SA ups source protection and Greg Hunt turns the tables 19.04.2018

A cut and paste incident has lost a Daily Mail journalist their job, but is the C-word a sackable offense? Plus, the South Australian Government is planning a new shield law to help journalists protect their sources. And Greg Hunt tries to reverse the roles of ministers and media. To discuss these issues and more, we were joined by Alex Bruce-Smith (Pedestrian TV) , Paul Wallbank (Mumbrella) and S...

Zuckerberg, Guthrie and MPs in Lycra 12.04.2018

The Cambridge Analytica saga continues as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faces the US congress. But is it too late to say sorry? Plus ABC boss Michelle Guthrie fronts Senate Estimates again and in the spirit of Zuckerberg, takes the blame for the corporation’s recent editorial mistakes. We also discuss the two journalists awaiting a formal hearing in a Myanmar prison. And MPs in Lycra: is the media...

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