Summer Series: Mike Carlton Talks On Air

In a special summer edition of Fourth Estate, we turn the clock back to December 2018, when broadcaster and journalist Mike Carlton joined then host Peter Fray for a wide-ranging conversation about his newly published memoir, ⁠On Air⁠.

The book traces Carlton’s long career across Australian journalism — from print to radio — offering a candid account of life behind the microphone, the shifting culture of newsrooms, and the pressures shaping public debate.

Recorded during a period of profound upheaval in Australia’s media landscape, this conversation reflects on power, personality, and the responsibilities of broadcasters, themes that feel as...