Fourth Estate

Journalist, author and feminist thinker Virginia Haussegger joins Tina Quinn to examine why the feminist revolution — inside Australia’s media and beyond — remains unfinished. Drawing on her latest book, Unfinished Revolution: The Feminist Fightback, Haussegger traces the long arc of sexism, backlash and resistance — from the media mockery of feminism during International Women’s Year in 1975, through to the misogyny directed at Australia’s first female prime minister, and the explosive reckoning of the March4Justice movement in 2021. Despite women now slightly outnumbering men as reporters in Australian newsrooms, Haussegger argues that real power has barely shifted. Media ownership and executive leadership remain overwhelmingly male, reinforcing cultures of machismo, misogyny and resistance to accountability. She reflects candidly on her own career — thriving at times inside these systems — and on confronting the ways sexism shaped even her own assumptions. The conversation ranges from the treatment of women in political and media life, to the persistence of gendered violence, the silencing of feminist history, and Australia’s slide on global gender equality rankings. At a moment of global backlash against women’s rights, this is a searching discussion about power, media, history and whether feminism still dares to imagine revolution. Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or tweet us at @fourthestateau Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After ten years co-hosting The Today Show, Liz Hayes made a decision that would reshape her life — she walked away from the top breakfast-television gig in the country. In this second part of this conversation with Tina Quinn, Liz shares the personal turmoil that led her to professional triumphs at 60 Minutes, and the extraordinary assignments that took her from the war in Afghanistan, to the emerald mines of Colombia, and detention centers at Guantanamo Bay. She reflects on the emotional toll of high-stakes reporting, the interviews that have stayed with her, and her eventual decision to leave Channel Nine after an incredible 44 years. For more on Liz, pick up a copy of her 2023 memoir, I'm Liz Hayes. Her new book, Outback Astronomer, is out now. Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or tweet us at @fourthestateau Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz Hayes is one of Australia’s most trusted and enduring journalists — but her story begins far from the studio lights. In this first part of our profile, Liz joins Tina Quinn in-studio to reflect on her upbringing on the Mid North Coast, where she started out as a cadet reporter, and her rapid rise through the newsrooms of Network Ten and Channel Nine. She talks about her decade at the helm of The Today Show — a role that made her one of the most recognisable faces in the country, as well as the pressures that came with that visibility, and the expectations placed on women in television in the 1980s and 90s. Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or tweet us at @fourthestateau Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more than a century, Condé Nast defined taste, power, and aspiration. From Vogue and Vanity Fair to The New Yorker and GQ, its magazines didn’t just chronicle culture — they shaped it. In this episode, Tina Quinn speaks with media correspondent for The New York Times, Michael M. Grynbaum, author of Empire Of The Elite, about how the company built an empire of influence — and how that power has been transformed in the age of social media, shifting values, and audiences who no longer wait to be told what’s beautiful or important. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just weeks ago, Palestinian media worker Samer Tarazi was struggling for survival amid the devastation of Gaza. Now safe in Sydney, he reflects on what he witnessed — the destruction of his city, the loss of his journalist colleagues, and the ongoing toll of a conflict that continues to test the world’s conscience. As news breaks of a “ceasefire” — hailed by some as a breakthrough and dismissed by others as fragile and uncertain — Samer joined host, Tina Quinn in studio to speak about survival, truth-telling, and what peace really means when you’ve lived through war. With translation and assistance from ABC journalist Nabil Al-Nashar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices