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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... never substantial. During 1888-89, for instance, the federal government's newspaper patronage totalled $77,359 for advertising and $115,335 for printing. The Montreal Gazette, one of the premier Tory papers in the. xx Prologue.
... federal government appointment once his task was completed. It was more than a generous offer, and he asked for twenty-four hours to think about it. Returning to his office, he applied for a raise, but was turned down by the recently ...
... federal assistance for Quebec, threatening they would not support a CPR money bill then being discussed. As a protest, Costigan resigned from cabinet, although he was later persuaded by Macdonald to change his mind. In Bunting's eye ...
... federal 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 ...
... federal disallowance of the Jesuit Act was the Mail's Edward Farrer, who churned out dozens of “savage and unrepentant” editorials. In the House of Commons, the Mail 's cause was picked up by D'Alton McCarthy, a Conservative MP who had ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |