Scrum Wars - Dundurn

Scrum Wars

The Prime Ministers and the Media

Published August 1996

Description

The 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.

Reviews

Contributors

Allan Levine

Allan Levine received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Toronto in 1985. He authored The Exchange: 100 Years of Trading Grain in Winnipeg edited Your Worship: The Lives of Eight of Canada's Most Unforgettable Mayors. His review and articles have appeared in the Globe & Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Saturday Night, The Beaver, and Books in Canada. Since 1984 he has taught at St. John's-Ravenscourt School. He lives in Winnipeg.

Book Details

ePub
August 1996
-
392 pp
9781459718593
Hardcover
August 1996
6x9 in
392 pp
9781550021912
Paperback
August 1996
6x9 in
392 pp
9781550022070
ePub
August 1996
-
392 pp
9781554882892