More connected,less attached: Factors shaping junior ranks’ perceptions of the Australian media’s coverage of the Australian Defence Force

This article seeks to understand what Australian Defence Force (ADF) junior ranks think about the Australian media’s coverage of defence issues and ADF operations. Through the analysis of original survey data, it considers how patterns of media use and the opinions of superiors, family and friends influence their views. This article compares these data with the findings from an earlier survey, which used the same survey instrument to examine what mid-ranking officers in the ADF thought about media coverage of the military. It explores the contrasts and continuities between the differing survey cohorts and considers what these suggest about the origins of and influences on their opinions. It concludes that while the surveys reveal a good deal about what ADF personnel think about the media’s coverage of their operations, it raises questions about why they think as they do that can only be answered through further studies.