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
Results 1-5 of 89
... Laurier and the Globe 36 4 Under Liberal Management 54 5 Politics of Virtue 69 PART TWO No League of Gentlemen , 1914-1956 6 Wartime Headlines 85 7 The Undependable Party Press 102 8 The Trials of Mackenzie King 124 9 R.B. in Charge 151 ...
... Laurier Papers , Elizabeth Diamond , formerly an archivist with the Diefenbaker Centre at the University of Saskatchewan , and Erik Spicer , chief parliamentary librarian , who allowed me access to the valuable news - clipping files in ...
... Laurier , formulated their policy of " unrestricted reciprocity , " the Mail became the chief promoter of commercial union . * For Macdonald , the Mail , as he proclaimed to a Quebec City audience a week before the 1887 election , was a ...
... . Following the 1887 election , the Liberals under Wilfrid Laurier promoted a form of free trade known then as " unrestricted reciprocity . " Macdonald's Conservatives stuck with the protective tariff of the National Policy. Party Organs ...
... Laurier that " the significance of Mr. Farrer's pamphlet was greatly exaggerated and the deductions drawn from its discovery were wholly unwarranted . There was no plot . There was no conspiracy . There was no intrigue in Washington ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |