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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... say?” It was sold in every train station, hotel, and bookstore in Ontario. Its denunciations and strong opinions were a daily topic of conversation. As veteran Liberal politician Sir Richard Cartwright so aptly put it, “There were ...
... say Mackenzie worshipped Brown, but he did value his friendship and newspaper. On the other hand, he wasn't afraid to speak out when he thought the Globe was following the wrong course.20 The Globe could not save Mackenzie from a ...
... say in its policies. Unfortunately for him, no one payed any attention to that: the Mail was the Conservative Party organ, plain and simple. To anyone who would listen, Macdonald pleaded his case. “No one is more dissatisfied with the ...
... say to me,” Macdonald wrote to Creighton in mid-December 1890, “that while they subscribe to the paper they never read it” (future prime minister John Thompson among them).32 Creighton had a few complaints of his own. One was that the ...
... to a state of excitement by the appeals of politicians who will tell him that French-Canadians of Manitoba are being oppressed by the majority.” To say that Laurier was furious is an understatement. His. Laurier and the Globe 45.
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |