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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... newspapers he could trust. As late as 1963 Liberal prime minister Lester Pearson's office still classified the newspapers he ... newspaper and TV journalists took on the role of the “unofficial opposition,” intent on exposing government ...
... newspaper report and column, but I have attempted to present a fair and objective account of many complex issues. John Dafoe, the esteemed editor of the Winnipeg Free Press for more than forty years, after listing the many li1nitations ...
... newspapers. And these were read religiously by their respective followers. It was considered as much a journalistic ... newspaper men as a working associate,” recalled Toronto writer and journalist Hector Charlesworth, “it secretly ...
... newspaper, anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, readily available from businessmen seeking investment opportunities and politicians looking for a mouthpiece. It was surviving for more than a year that was the real problem. Newspapers came ...
... newspaper proprietor.12 Realistic politicians like Sir John A. understood that in the newspaper business meagre government patronage was no substitute for a sound commercial foundation. This, however, did not stop him from trying to use ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |