Fourth Estate

As the as the so-called ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has collapsed, the official death toll in the region has surpassed 50,000, although experts warn the real number is much higher. Of those many thousands who have perished are hundreds of journalists who have been killed in Gaza while simply reporting on the conflict. This last week brought shocking footage of a media tent being bombed, wit...

After what seemed like an interminably long lead-up, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally called the election for May 3 - ending weeks of speculation about when Australians will head to the polls. The date was seemingly ‘leaked’ an hour before Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton was due to hand down his much anticipated budget speech, catching the Liberals on the back foot and no doubt setting...

As Fourth Estate returns this week, we examine whether the issue of anti-Semitism is being weaponised by both our media and political class. Joining Tina Quinn to discuss is investigative journalist Antony Loewenstein, Crikey's Rachel Withers and The Sydney Morning Herald's Max Maddison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we turn back the clock to Tina Quinn's conversation with foreign correspondent, Lynne O'Donnell. Lynne has spent close to 30 years covering terrorism, conflict and war across Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. In 2022, Lynne herself made headlines around the world, when she was detained by Taliban intelligence agents in Afghan capital of Kabul, forced to retract some of her articl...

This week we step back into the archives to Tina Quinn's conversation with famed human rights lawyer, author and broadcaster, Geoffrey Robertson. The year was 2021. Scott Morrison was still prime minister of Australia, it was the early days of the Biden presidency, before Russia’s war with Ukraine, and this most recent conflict in the Middle East. Julian Assange was still fighting off extradition...

Crikey’s proprietor Eric Beecher, is a rare combination of journalist, media owner and idealist.  “A media mongrel”, he says his friends call him, at 33 he became the youngest-ever editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, but was wooed away by the most consequential press mogul’s of the modern age, Rupert Murdoch. But as he tells Tina Quinn, it was a short-lived tryst. He joins Fourth Estate this week...

After close to two months of speculation, Hamish Macdonald, the former Q+A host and current Radio National and The Project presenter has been confirmed as the new Mornings host on ABC Radio Sydney. Macdonald replaces Sarah Macdonald, who announced on air only days after being told that her contract would not be renewed, prompting public outcry from her very loyal listenership. It comes amidst conc...

This week we dip back into the Fourth Estate archives to Tina Quinn's 2022 discussion with Samantha Maiden and Jess Hill, reflecting on the ten year anniversary of the famous and historic 'misogyny speech', delivered by Australia's then Prime Minister Julia Gillard. While many seemed to miss the gravity of the moment in the immediate aftermath, and dismissed the speech as a misstep by a then embat...

David Marr was 33 years old when he was appointed editor of the National Times, but his tenure was short lived. He was spectacularly sacked within two years, but his unmatched prose would see him become an internationally renowned biographer, and an award winning journalist for his coverage of the deaths of Aboriginals in custody for the ABC's Four Corners program. In part two of his conversation...

David Marr’s extraordinary career as a journalist, broadcaster and biographer, has seen him write about the most interesting and controversial people in Australian history. From Kevin Rudd and George Pell to John Howard and Bill Henson, his work he says has been about trying to explain the "contradictions" of his subjects. As part of our ongoing series of profiles, David joined Tina Quinn in studi...

The world's media has brought us spectacular images out of Syria this week, as the brutal dictatorship of the country's President Bashar al-Assad crumbled this week, in a moment being compared to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and one which promises to reshape the landscape of power in the Middle East. Joining Tina Quinn to discuss this seismic moment: Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Corr...

When Maxine McKew first entered the world of journalism in 1974, her home state of Queensland was ruled by the “oppressive” government of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, where police corruption was rife and the media was largely stifled. She rose through the ranks of the ABC on programs like This Day Tonight, Nationwide and The Carleton-Walsh Report, and became the first woman appointed as the public bro...

As Australia prepares for a forthcoming election year, predictions are coming left, right and center as to what way it might go. Journalist and author, George Megalogenis thinks we could be looking at a minority government as the changing politics of Australia continues to take shape. But who will hold the balance of power, why has the electoral map continued to change, and how is our own fourth e...

For close to forty years, Alan Jones, inspired adoration from his passionate listeners, and both fear and loathing from the politicians whose public popularity he could make or break. This week, Child Abuse Squad detectives arrived at the luxury home of the 83 year old to arrest him, charging him with 26 offences, involving nine victims. His arrest is the latest chapter in the downfall of one of A...

This week we dip back into the Fourth Estate archives and revisit Tina Quinn’s interview with ABC broadcaster, Geraldine Doogue. This interview was originally broadcast in December of 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what was an incredibly decisive vote from the US electorate, following an incredibly divisive election, Donald J Trump will return to the White House in January, becoming the 47th President of the United States. Had she been elected, Vice President Kamala Harris would have made history as the country's first female President, but American voters decided on a different precedent. Joining Tina Qu...

George Negus cut an iconic figure in the Australian media industry. One of the original stars of 60 Minutes when it was first established in Australia, he redefined the medium of television journalism. His multi-decade career saw him go head to head with world leaders like Margaret Thatcher, Muammar Gaddafi and Australia's own Bob Hawke. He brought stories from all four corners of the globe home t...

A year on from last year's referendum, and the deep divisions laid bare during its bitter campaign remain. With minimal progress made on Indigenous affairs, the path ahead for Australia's First Nations communities looks increasingly bleak. Daniel James and Clare Armstrong join Tina Quinn to discuss the difficult conversations the media is still failing to navigate. Learn more about your ad choices...

A year on from the beginning of what has become the deadliest uprising of violence between Israel and Palestine that we've ever seen, this week we turn our eye on the language often used by the media when reporting on this conflict. Joining host, Tina Quinn to discuss is the ABC's Paul Barry, and Al Jazeera's, Meenakshi Ravi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Watergate scandal was already unfolding when Jeff McMullen arrived in the United States in 1972, having just been appointed as the ABC's New York Correspondent. He would spend the next decade filing compelling stories for Four Corners on the turmoil surrounding nuclear waste, uranium mining and the plight of the Native Americans. During his years covering the Reagan White House, Jeff made the...

Within 12 months of joining the ABC in 1966, 18 year old Jeff McMullen took his very first posting as a Foreign Correspondent to Papua New Guinea. It was the beginning of a multi-decade career, which would see him cover the Watergate scandal in the United States, the coup in Chile, the famine in Eritrea and the genocide in Guatemala. As part of our ongoing series of profiles, Jeff joined Tina Quin...

This week we again dip back into the Fourth Estate archives, to August of 2021, when Tina Quinn assembled journalists Jeff McMullen, Chris Masters and Morag Ramsay to commemorate the 60th birthday, Four Corners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first round of voluntary redundancies from Nine Entertainment have been announced, with 85 journalists at what was once the Fairfax papers, packing their bags. But could the supposed bloodletting lead to a worsening prognosis for Australia's largest media company? Journalists Jonathan Green, Kerry-Anne Walsh and Scott Mitchell join Tina Quinn to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Its been more bad news this week for the already embattled Seven Network, with Four Corners airing a searing expose into the commercial broadcaster's workplace culture. The picture painted was one of bullying, harassment and misogyny. Four Corners Investigative Reporter, Louise Milligan joined Tina Quinn and Virginia Haussegger, who herself navigated a multi-decade career in television news and cu...

When Margaret Throsby first came through the doors of the ABC in 1967, as the new “announcer” on staff, she was the only woman in a room full of men. As part of our ongoing series of profiles, the incomparable broadcaster joined Tina Quinn in studio to talk about the remarkable 56 year career that followed. The word legend is often generously bandied about, but its fitting for the famously velvet...