Based on interviews, archival research and historical documents, the book is rich in anecdotes and historical context. Lewis takes you behind the scenes into the cabinet room, the back rooms and the bedrooms of the nation. You will read about friendly journalists in the 1800s who protected their prime minister and aggressive reporters who took no prisoners when they came down after the battle and shot the wounded.
It includes his own up-close experience travelling with Prime Ministers Lester Pearson (his first flight was on the PMs plane), Pierre “Just Watch Me” Trudeau (to Scandinavia, Europe, Asia and the Pacific), John Turner (on his “Come Back” tour) and Joe Clark (on his controversial world trip in 1979), plus a host of other prominent politicians.
Since Watergate, Press Gallery coverage has become more confrontational. It also has been diminished because of cutbacks by media companies fighting for survival. Both realities, Lewis argues, imperil Canadian democracy and raise the question: does the press gallery matter? The answer: in an era of “fake news,” more than ever before.
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