Journalist, author and television presenter, Jan Fran joins Tina Quinn in studio to talk the launch of Ette Media, a new independent venture she's co-founded with fellow journalist, Antoinette Lattouf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What began as just five casual shifts behind the microphone has escalated into one of the most high-profile legal battles in Australian media. In 2023, Antoinette Lattouf was dropped as a fill-in presenter on ABC Radio Sydney after she shared a Human Rights Watch post about the Israel-Gaza conflict, which claimed Israel had used starvation as a "weapon of war." Lattouf took the national broadcaster to court, alleging wrongful dismissal. Now, after a lengthy and expensive legal fight, Justice Dar...
We turn the clock back this week and revisit former Fourth Estate host, Monica Attard's conversation with Sophie McNeil, previously the ABC's Middle East Correspondent, and Hugh Riminton, National Affairs Editor for 10 News First. This episode originally aired in May 2021, during what became known as the Israel-Palestine crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As the latest uprising of violence in Gaza surpasses 600 days, the government of Israel is facing unprecedented condemnation from its Western allies. France, the United Kingdom, and Canada have provided the most surprising about-face, with many other countries echoing sentiments of "disgrace" over the Netanyahu government's actions. But many critics say it's a case of too little, too late. So what has triggered this shift in language, and could it signal a more meaningful shift in policy? Joinin...
In what turned out to be a much more definitive result than most pundits were expecting, the Labor government of Anthony Albanese has been returned to office for a second term with an increased majority. Meanwhile, the Coalition suffered devastating losses across the board, and lost the head of their party in Peter Dutton. Why did the Coalition lose so spectacularly? How did the Albanese Government manage a largely unprecedented comeback? Is the once undeniable influence of Rupert Murdoch's medi...
After what's been a largely uneventful election campaign, Australian's are only days away from heading to the ballot box, and analysts are predicting the result could bring some surprises yet. So, will Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Labor party be returned to government? Or will Peter Dutton and the Coalition defy the polls and make a largely unprecedented comeback? And what how will the minor parties and independents, who played such a pivotal role in 2022’s result, fair? Joining Tina ...
Australia is three weeks into the 2025 federal election cycle, and this time around the issues dominating the agenda have been as wide-ranging as housing, energy prices, climate change and somehow even, American President Donald Trump. But as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's campaign falters captures the media's attention, is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese enjoying a smoother ride than he otherwise would be? Joining Tina Quinn to discuss is ABC Radio National's Melissa Clarke, The Saturday Pape...
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, with a number of journalists inside burning to their deaths. Over the border in Israeli-occupied Jerusa...
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 the tone for the usual horse race that is a federal election campaign. Joining Tina Quinn to discuss...
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 articles, and coerced into making a public apology during what she described as three days of “cat-and-mou...
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 from his UK prison cell to the United States, where a life sentence seemed likely. And Donald Trump ...
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 to talk about the dangers of moguls, why press manipulation goes back much further than the Murdoch ...
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 concerns from the ABC audience, that its local radio stations are at risk of being commercialized by its...
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 embattled Prime Minister, it was a moment which became a global sensation, and a decade on has continued ...
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 with Tina Quinn, David discusses his extraordinary career reporting on the leading social issues of ...
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 studio talk about his upbringing in the conservative Australia of the 1960s, coming to grips with being g...
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 Correspondent who is currently in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Kareem Shaheen from New Lines Magazine...
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 broadcasters Washington Correspondent. At her height, hosting Lateline and The 7.30 Report, she was kno...
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 estate’s report card looking when it comes to explaining it all to its audience? The former press gal...
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 Australia's most controversial figures, a man described by one of his alleged victims as being “more ...
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 Quinn to analyse the media coverage and its impact on the result was Danielle Allen (formerly of The W...
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 to Australians, in his knock-about, down to earth style that became known as quintessential Negus. Ra...
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. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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 difficult decision to leave the ABC for the Nine Network's 60 Minutes, at a time when current affair...
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 Quinn in studio talk about what began his attraction to far flung places, his love for storytelling and ...
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
