Fourth Estate

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 dynasty, and the future of serious, quality journalism.

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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 new management.

Joining Tina Quinn to discuss is Jenna Price, Columnist at the Sydney Morning Herald, and Daanyal Saeed, Media Reporter at Crikey.

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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 to linger in the public's memory.

So why did some in the Australian media get it so wrong at the time, and how has it informed reporting in the decade since as sexism and misogyny has experienced a reckoning?

This episode was originally broadcast in October of 2022.

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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 our time, like racial injustice, gay rights, and the plight of asylum seekers.

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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 gay at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized, the "halcyon" days of journalism at the National Times, and his much revered biographies of Chief Justice Sir Garfield Barwick and the world renowned Australian writer Patrick White.

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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, and Paul Conroy the filmmaker and photographer; who whilst working in the region was brutally injured by the same Syrian shelling which claimed the life of his friend and colleague, Marie Colvin.

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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 known as one of Australia’s finest current affairs interviewers, but she gave it all up for a career in politics, unseating then Prime Minister John Howard in the seat of Bennelong.

As part of our ongoing in-profile series, Maxine joined Tina Quinn in studio to talk about an extraordinary career which saw her blaze the trail for other female journalists, and gave her a front seat to history.

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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 gallery reporter and longtime political commentator joined Tina Quinn to discuss.

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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 powerful than the prime minister”. 

Tina Quinn was joined by Kate McClymont and Chris Masters, both of whose work examining the life, power and influence of Alan Jones has led to this moment.

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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.

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