Fourth Estate

AI, Nepo Babies & Barking Barnaby

Fourth Estate

Show Notes

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 —shock surprise or completely expected?

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