Scrum Wars: The Prime Ministers and the MediaThe image of the scrum -- a beleaguered politican surrounded by jockeying reporters -- is central to our perception of Ottawa. The modern scrum began with the arrival of television, but even in Sir John A. Macdonald's day, a century earlier, reporters in the parliamentary press gallery had waited outside the prime minister's office, pen in hand, hoping for a quote for the next edition. The scrum represents the test of wills, the contest of wits, and the battle for control that have characterized the relationship between Canadian prime ministers and journalists for more than 125 years. Scrum Wars chronicles this relationship. It is an anecdotal as well as analytical account, showing how earlier prime ministers like Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Wilfrid Laurier were able to exercise control over what was written about their administrators, while more recent leaders like John Diefenbaker, Joe Clark, John Turner, and Brian Mulroney often found themselves at the mercy of intense media scrutiny and comment. |
From inside the book
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... Conservative reporters and supportive Conservative newspapers he could trust. As late as 1963 Liberal prime minister Lester Pearson's office still classified the newspapers he received as “Conservative,” “Liberal” or “Independent,” and ...
... Conservative Halifax Herald, and for this session he was working as the newspaper's Ottawa correspondent, a job he enjoyed and was good at. The Liberal government's March 1878 budget was the subject of debate, and the Conservatives, led ...
... Conservative administration of Charles de Boucherville over a dispute involving public money earmarked for the North Shore railway project. More to the point, Lettelier had then asked the Liberal leader in the Quebec assembly, Henri ...
... Conservative correspondents. There was also the question of money. During the 1870s it did not cost very much to establish a newspaper, anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, readily available from businessmen seeking investment opportunities ...
... Conservative editors from every town and city across Canada who were not satisfied with their share of government contracts? The simple answer is that the money, no matter how small an amount, did make a difference to a struggling ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |