When Caroline Baum walked through the doors of British Vogue as a young editorial assistant in the mid-1970s, London was at the centre of the fashion, literary and cultural worlds. It was there she encountered some of the era's biggest names—from photographer Helmut Newton to Antony Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon—while discovering both the craft of storytelling that would define her career and the feminism she says underpinned it.

From there, Baum found herself working behind the scenes on the television programs of Michael Parkinson and Melvyn Bragg, two of Britain's most celebrated interviewers—and two famously mercurial personalities—witnessing firsthand the pressures, egos and power dynamics of British television.

As part of our ongoing profile series, Caroline Baum joins Tina Quinn to reflect on those formative years, the lessons that shaped her approach to interviewing, and the experiences that laid the foundations for a remarkable career in journalism.

She also shares, for the first time publicly, the deeply personal story behind her departure from the ABC's Between the Lines in 1997.

This is part one of a special multi-part conversation.

To learn more about Caroline's remarkable life, pick up a copy of her memoir, ⁠Only⁠.

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or follow us at @fourthestateau.

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Hannah Ferguson (Cheek Media), Scott Mitchell (Lamestream Media) and Daanyal Saeed (Crikey) join Tina Quinn to unpack another big week in Australian media.

This week, the panel examines the future of journalism in the age of artificial intelligence following the Andrew Olle Media Lecture, where Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni argued AI companies should pay for the journalism that powers their products. But with Nine announcing another round of newsroom redundancies on the same day—despite recently signing an AI licensing deal with Microsoft—we ask the question many journalists are now asking: if AI is creating new revenue for publishers, why are newsrooms still getting smaller?

The panel also debates Mamamia's appointment of founder Mia Freedman's 28-year-old son, Luca Lavigne, as chief executive, and what it says about nepotism, merit and leadership in an industry still criticised for being overwhelmingly white, middle class and dominated by familiar networks.

Plus, Sarah Ferguson's now infamous interview with Barnaby Joyce, the spectacle that followed, Pauline Hanson's latest comments on domestic violence, and Karl Stefanovic's next possible podcast guest

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau.

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After surviving Jeffrey Epstein and helping expose one of the biggest sexual abuse scandals in modern history, Virginia Giuffre became a global symbol of courage. But her story didn't end there.

Award-winning Good Weekend senior writer Melissa Fyfe joins Fourth Estate to discuss her extraordinary investigation into the final months of Giuffre's life — examining allegations of domestic violence, coercive control and institutional failures, and what her story reveals about trauma, violence against women and the media's reporting of survivors.

We also pay tribute to one of Australian journalism's most influential and polarising figures, Derryn Hinch. Journalist and media historian Andrew Dodd reflects on Hinch's remarkable career, his battles with the courts, his move into politics, and the complicated legacy of a broadcaster who forever blurred the lines between reporting, advocacy and activism.

Further reading and listening:

This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, domestic and family violence, and suicide. If you or someone you know needs support, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Get in touch:

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ or tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau⁠

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This week on Fourth Estate, we unpack the biggest stories shaping Australian media, politics and journalism.

As the Royal Commission into Antisemitism turns its attention to the media, we examine the recommendations aimed at the ABC and SBS, including calls for greater oversight and more "positive" coverage of Israel. What could this mean for editorial independence, public trust and press freedom?

We also discuss the federal government's tougher social media laws, whether multi-million dollar fines can really force Big Tech companies to protect young Australians, and why tech platforms continue to escape the level of scrutiny often directed at public broadcasters.

Plus, Australia's long-running battle over gambling advertising returns. As new reforms take shape, we ask whether broadcasters have become too dependent on gambling revenue, and whether streaming platforms are poised to become the industry's next frontier.

And finally, Anthony Albanese's appearance on Nikki Osborne's Bush Deep podcast sparked days of headlines over some very awkward exchanges. We ask whether the controversy was overblown, whether politicians are increasingly choosing entertainment podcasts over rigorous journalism, and if the media's fixation on viral moments is distracting from the questions that really matter. Is "relatability" replacing scrutiny in Australian political coverage?

Joining host ⁠Tina Quinn⁠ are ⁠Mark Kenny⁠, political analyst for The Canberra Times and Professor at the Australian National University's Australian Studies Institute, and columnist for The Monthly, ⁠Karen Middleton⁠.

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Karl Stefanovic's dramatic exit from Nine has become one of the biggest Australian media stories of the year. But is this simply the downfall of a television star, or a sign that the media landscape itself is changing?

After his podcast interview with far-right activist Tommy Robinson sparked widespread backlash, Nine ended its three-decade relationship with one of its biggest names. Now, as Stefanovic embraces podcasting and the language of "free speech", bigger questions are emerging. Can Australia support a Joe Rogan-style media model? Is controversy a viable business strategy? And where is the line between journalism, platforming and personality-driven media?

Joining Tina Quinn to unpack the saga are The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age columnist Jacqueline Maley, whose sharp analysis of the affair has sparked national debate, and Crikey Readers' Editor and Cut Through host Crystal Andrews.

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau.

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After serving as Prime Minister Bob Hawke's press secretary, Barrie Cassidy returned to journalism with a new perspective on politics and power.

Following several years as a correspondent based in the United States with The Australian, an unexpected approach from Network Ten persuaded him to return to Australia to host Meet the Press.

In Part Two of our special profile series, Barrie reflects on that decision, his eventual return to the ABC, and the creation of Insiders — the Sunday morning political program that would become one of the country's most influential current affairs shows.

Joining Tina Quinn, Cassidy also reflects on the changing relationship between politicians and the press, the evolution of political journalism, and the lessons learned over more than four decades covering Australian politics.

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau.

Episode artwork photographed by Matthew Smeal.

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Thirty years ago, Pauline Hanson exposed a fault line in Australian politics that never really went away.

This week, following Hanson's first National Press Club address and amid signs One Nation is enjoying its strongest political moment in years, Fourth Estate asks what the media got right, what it got wrong, and whether we've ever truly understood the Australia that keeps bringing Hanson back.

Joining Tina Quinn are broadcaster Raf Epstein, award-winning journalist David Leser, whose landmark Good Weekend profile Pauline Hanson's Bitter Harvest remains one of the defining accounts of Hanson's rise, and veteran political reporter Margo Kingston, author of Off The Rails: The Pauline Hanson Trip, one of the most influential books written about the One Nation phenomenon.

Together they revisit the journalism that shaped Australia's understanding of Hanson — from Tracey Curro's famous "Please Explain" interview to Maxine McKew's forensic Lateline interrogation — and ask what those moments can tell us about her resurgence today.

We also hear from Crikey's Charlie Lewis and Nine Political Editor Charles Croucher, who were both in the room for Hanson's National Press Club appearance.

Why has Hanson endured? What does her resurgence tell us about Australian politics, the media, and the voters journalists still struggle to understand? And three decades on, how the hell do we cover her going forward?

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau

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When Barrie Cassidy arrived in Canberra in 1979, Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister, the political shockwaves of the 1975 dismissal were still reverberating through Australian politics, and Fraser was already fending off the leadership ambitions of a rising Andrew Peacock.

The press gallery was smaller, the media landscape less fragmented, and for a young reporter who had discovered a passion for politics while covering Victoria's state parliament, Canberra offered a front-row seat to power.

What followed was a career that would take Cassidy from the corridors of Parliament House to the Prime Minister's office itself, before carrying him overseas to report on some of the defining political stories of the late twentieth century.

As part of our ongoing profile series, Barrie Cassidy joins Tina Quinn to reflect on those formative years, his time working for Bob Hawke, and the experiences that shaped one of Australia's most respected political journalists.

This is part one of a special two-part conversation.

We'd love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau

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For decades, China was seen in Australia as an opportunity. Today, it's more often described as a threat.

But how much of Australia's understanding of China reflects reality — and how much is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves?

As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks of an "ideological disagreement" with the United States, and as global tensions expose vulnerabilities in supply chains and energy security, a broader question is emerging: is Australia prepared to think more independently about its place in the world?

This week, Fourth Estate examines the media narratives, strategic assumptions and political debates that have come to define Australia's relationship with its largest trading partner.

Host Tina Quinn speaks with former Labor leader and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Bill Shorten about Australia's fuel security, sovereign capabilities and what self-reliance might look like in an increasingly uncertain world.

Then, a panel featuring Professor Wanning Sun (University of Technology Sydney and a frequent contributor to Crikey), Peter Hartcher (Political and International Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) and Ben Doherty (Senior Reporter, Guardian Australia) explores how China is framed in Australian media, the influence of the United States on Australian foreign policy, and whether Australia's assumptions about alliances, security and sovereignty need rethinking.

Are we seeing China clearly — or through the lens of geopolitics, fear and strategic rivalry?

And as the balance of global power shifts, what does Australian self-reliance actually look like?

Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you! Tell us your thoughts and email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau⁠⁠.

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Sarah Wilson has lived through almost every era of modern media — from becoming a newspaper columnist in her early 20s, to editing Cosmopolitan magazine and hosting MasterChef Australia, writing bestselling books, podcasting and independent publishing.

But in recent years, her focus has shifted toward much bigger questions: how do we live meaningfully in an age of ecological crisis, political instability, information overload and growing civilisational anxiety?

In this conversation with Tina Quinn, Sarah discusses her new book, I Eat the Stars, why she believes our resistance to societal collapse needs to evolve, and why making art, finding beauty and embracing uncertainty may be more important than ever.

They also discuss why Australian media often struggles to grapple with complexity, the pressures of the modern attention economy, and how Sarah’s own long and unconventional career has shaped the way she now thinks about journalism, culture and the path forward.

Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you and 2SER needs you! Head to ⁠⁠love2SER.com⁠⁠ and tell us your thoughts, or email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau⁠⁠.

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