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 47
... critical of his rival George Brown. Nova Scotia Grits had never forgiven Brown for not consulting them before he joined the “Great Coalition” with Macdonald and Cartier in 1864 that led to Confederation. The article in question ...
... critical treatment by Globe writers, representative of the journalistic style of the era. He was condemned for his handling of Louis Riel and the Métis conflict in 1869 and for selling out Canada in the Washington Treaty of 1871. But in ...
... critical editorials on the government's handling of the Riel crisis at Red River; further, his paper considered the Washington Treaty, as the Globe did, a betrayal of Canada. On 11 May 1871, the Telegraph accused the Macdonald ...
... critical remarks about the Conservative newspaper and party. This made a tense situation worse.15 During 1883 and into 1884, the conflict heated up over such issues as a proposed booklet of religious readings for Ontario schools that ...
... critical of Quebec's Liberal premier, Honoré Mercier, after evidence of a political scandal surfaced in June 1890. Nor was he very tolerant of Mercier's nationalist pleadings or his campaign to extend provincial powers. Led by ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |