The media and the fire services: Dealing with conflicting agendas

This chapter seeks to understand the complex relationships between media news organizations and fire and land management agencies in the provision of bushfire warnings and information. The research project established that relationships between the media and fire-related organizations are now more complex and productive than that suggested by earlier literature on this subject. It is recommended that these productive relationships be strengthened by more regular monitoring of the media by fire agencies, by joint activities involving journalists and fire agencies, the development of a single media unit to represent all agencies during emergencies, and by developing within the Department of Sustainability and Environment, the land management agency, a specific, clearly branded and separate fire division.