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.
Table of Content
Preface: The Battle of the ScrumAcknowledgments
Prologue: The View from the Gallery
Illustrations (following page 104)
PART ONE
Partisan Partners, 1867–1913
1 A Controlling Interest
2 Party Organs
3 Laurier and the Globe
4 Under Liberal Management
5 Politics of Virtue
PART TWO
No League of Gentlemen, 1914–1956
6 Wartime Headlines
7 The Undependable Party Press
8 The Trials of Mackenzie King
9 R.B. in Charge
10 Managing the War
11 Uncle Louis
PART THREE
The Unofficial Opposition, 1957–1992
12 Dief vs. the Gallery
13 One of the Boys
14 The “Crummy” Press
15 Judgmental Journalism
16 The Turner Follies of ’84
17 Media Junkie
18 The Comeback Kid’s Last Ride
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
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.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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