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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... Graham. Published in Canada by Collins Publishers Ltd. Excerpts are used by permission of Ron Graham and HarperCollins Publishers. Renegade in Power copyright © 1963 by Peter C. Newman, The Distemper of Our Times copyright © 1968 by ...
... Graham Fraser of the Globe and Mail, who befriended me when we first met in Ottawa, took time from his busy schedule to talk to me about his own experiences and those of his late father, journalist Blair Fraser, and wrote thoughtful ...
... Graham to purchase more efficient presses, include more illustrations, and hire more reporters to flush out corruption in high places, a favourite Star preoccupation.2 It was Graham himself, however, who ensured the Star stood apart ...
... Graham had taken out policies, valued at more than one million dollars, insuring each of them against death and accident. How influential a role Graham and the Star ultimately played in the government's decision is difficult to ...
... Graham, Berthiaume was a clever publisher. Utilizing the most modern technology (he experimented with colour photographs as early as 1897, for example) and employing the best writers, he transformed La Presse into a popular paper that ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |