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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... election as prime minister was about a year away. He knew that Brown and the Globe as well as other Liberal newspapers would attack him as a traitor. Controlling information about his position on the treaty therefore became essential ...
... dirty” money during the election of 1872. “Immediate, private. I must have another ten thousand. Will be the last time of calling. Do not fail me. Answer today,” Macdonald had wired Allan's lawyer J .J . 8 Scrum Wars.
... election and after, he wrote Patteson every other day with new leads to take and new attacks to pursue. His devious strategy was unparalleled. In September, when Edward Wood, a former member of Sandfield Macdonald's Ontario “patent ...
... election in February of the new year, Macdonald, now seventy-one years of age, toured southern and western Ontario for seven weeks. With Meredith and chief ministers John Thompson and Thomas White also on board, the prime minister's ...
... election without a powerful Toronto organ. Thought was given to purchasing the use of Billy Maclean's World for $10,000 but that did not work out (although the World was very supportive for the duration of the campaign).24 Macdonald was ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |