Chris Masters' Bean Lecture on truth-telling in journalism, Canberra, 6 September

Renowned journalist and writer, Chris Masters, is to give the 6th CEW Bean Memorial Lecture in Canberra on Sunday afternoon, 6 September 2026.

The topic is 'Has Australia lost its appetite for truth telling in journalism?'

Details and booking.

The lecture will be introduced by Peter Rees, author and biographer of Bean.

From the promotional material:

[Masters] examines across a century, Australians' appetite for an honest understanding of the experience of war.

The danger of our overstating the virtue of the Anzac legend is no better exemplified than in the heroic status accorded Ben Roberts-Smith.

The Australian War Memorial played a key role in both honouring Roberts-Smith, the war hero, and defending Roberts-Smith, the accused war criminal.

Charles Bean, the author of the Official History and founder of the War Memorial, is often criticised for blinkered worship of the sainted digger. But would Bean, the war correspondent ... whitewash war crimes?

For other material on and by Chris Masters, use the Search function on this website and on our sister site, Honest History. Plus reviews of Peter Rees' book on Bean.

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‍Picture credit: The Bean War historian team at Tuggeranong in 1922. Seated L. to R.: Mrs Bean, C.E.W. Bean, Mrs Bazley. Standing: A.W. Bazley, William Lowther, P. Wightman, J. Balfour (Wikimedia Commons/NLA)