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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... with the extreme Orange order were high and the number of Catholics very low, “it was possible to wonder what a Roman Catholic looked like.”13 Since before Confederation, John A. Macdonald's political power had been. Party Organs 19.
... Mail); John Livingston, the Empire's first editor; and Louis Kribs, “a bulky blond figure who looked like a German comedian,” formerly with the Evening News. (Kribs had been responsible for a hoax a few. Party Organs 25.
... looked at the Mail as the true Tory organ all contributed to the Empire's problems. Meanwhile, behind Creighton's back a solution to rid the party of this liability was in the works. The idea that the Mail and Empire should merge had ...
... looked to the day when Canada would be an independent country. Still, he understood English Canadians' attachment to the Empire and their intense desire to remain linked to the British “Motherland.” He was also aware that such a ...
... looked over his shoulder for Bourassa for the rest of his life. Laurier's masterly control of the French press during the Boer crisis was a good indication of the extent to which he dominated Quebec during most of his political career ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |