Familiarity Breeds Contempt? Contemporary Military-Media Relations in Australia | Fay Anderson and Kevin Foster

Summary: While the military’s disdain for the media is an open secret, we have very little detail about its origins or distinguishing features and what they bode for the future of military-media relations in Australia. Kevin Foster and Jason Pallant’s paper seeks to fill that gap. Drawing on questionnaires completed by candidates at the Australian Command and Staff College, this paper explores what the leaders of tomorrow's Australian Defence Force (ADF) think of today's media coverage of military matters and where these opinions come from.  In response, Fay Anderson will consider the experiences of contemporary Australian media practitioners who have worked with the military, how these experiences have shaped attitudes towards the ADF, and how the media see the future of relations between the two parties.