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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... Star. “At the bottom [of this pit] the members swarmed,” recalled Dafoe years later when he was the editor of the Winnipeg Free Press. “It was enclosed by walls that rose sheer and unbroken, save for narrow entrances, for perhaps 20 ...
... Star, a money-losing journal founded in 1892 by organized labour, and turn it into a profitable party organ. On Willison's approval, they offered the editorship of the Star to thirty-three-year-old Joseph Atkinson, a talented journalist ...
... Star into the Liberals' most loyal Toronto organ.30 During the federal election of 1900, the Star joined the Globe in securing Laurier and the Liberals another term. But again Willison was not happy with the results (the Liberals lost ...
... Star, on the other hand, supported Laurier's stand.) Still, during the reciprocity debate and the election campaign that followed in September 1911, the Globe chose to stick by Laurier. Editorials praised Laurier, now age seventy, as ...
... Star of October 3, 1899. Britain was going to war in South Africa to protect British Uitlanders from harsh treatment at the hands of the Boers, descendants of Dutch colonists who governed the distant country. As a loyal member of the ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |