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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... writing innumerable letters of reference, I thank Jack McClelland, Peter C. Newman (himself a candid interviewee), Shirlee Smith, and Winnipeg MP Dorothy Dobbie. Alas, my much-anticipated interview with Brian Mulroney did not take place ...
... writer.2 In all other respects Griffin was a mild, pleasant, and cultured man who revered British institutions and enjoyed reading fine literature and attending the theatre. He often used his favourite passages from Shakespeare to open ...
... write editorials and columns. Some freelanced, wrote for more than one paper, or if they had the right connections ... writer and journalist Hector Charlesworth, “it secretly amused me to discern that they held a much higher opinion of ...
... . Conservative papers in the West in the 1880s were compelled to write editorials in support of the protective tariff on agricultural implements, not a popular measure among the farmers who were supposed to buy. Prologue xxi.
... write formal letters to the British government noting his objections. These would be helpful later on. His first general election as prime minister was about a year away. He knew that Brown and the Globe as well as other Liberal ...
Contents
No League of Gentlemen 19141956 | 83 |
Illustrations | 104 |
The Unofficial Opposition 19571992 | 207 |
Notes | 365 |
Bibliography | 380 |
Index | 383 |