The book is about Winston Churchill’s
relationship with the media and the news. Churchill was active in politics from
the age of Queen Victoria to that of Elizabeth II, a period which included two
world wars, in both of which Churchill played a leading role. During his
lifetime, the mass popular press came into its own, but then came under
challenge from new media—newsreels, radio, and eventually TV.
The book tackles Churchill’s relationship
with the news in three dimensions, first, his own journalism. Second, his
efforts to influence or control what was said about him. Third, his evolving
media image.
The book starts with the very earliest
mentions media mentions of Churchill, the child of Lord Randolph Churchill, who
was a renowned and mercurial Conservative politician. It continues until his
death and funeral in 1965. During this period, the press was evolving and
becoming ever more intrusive. During Churchill’s retirement he made plenty of
trips abroad, and the paparazzi would follow him everywhere, trying for example
to get shots of him painting, a favourite hobby of his.
The book also deals with the symbolism that
surrounded Churchill and the way that he was portrayed. Now, if we think of an object
we associate with him, we might think of a cigar. Earlier in his career,
though, cartoonists typically drew him wearing a tiny hat. Churchill claimed
this was due to an incident during an election campaign in which he picked up
the wrong headgear when going outside. Certainly, he knew the value of having
identifiable quirks and a colourful image that would ensure he got a lot of
coverage.
I would say that the book is best read from
start to finish but each chapter is self-contained and therefore hopefully
useful in its own right to readers who are interested in particular phases of
Churchill’s career.
[T]he Holocaust transformed our whole way of thinking about war and heroism. War is no longer a proving ground for heroism in the same way it used to be. Instead, war now is something that we must avoid at all costs—because genocides often take place under the cover of war. We are no longer all potential soldiers (though we are that too), but we are all potential victims of the traumas war creates. This, at least, is one important development in the way Western populations envision war, even if it does not always predominate in the thinking of our political leaders.Carolyn J. Dean, Interview of February 01, 2011
The dominant premise in evolution and economics is that a person is being loyal to natural law if he or she attends to self’s interest and welfare before being concerned with the needs and demands of family or community. The public does not realize that this statement is not an established scientific principle but an ethical preference. Nonetheless, this belief has created a moral confusion among North Americans and Europeans because the evolution of our species was accompanied by the disposition to worry about kin and the collectives to which one belongs.Jerome Kagan, Interview of September 17, 2009
In a nutshell
The book is about Winston Churchill’s relationship with the media and the news. Churchill was active in politics from the age of Queen Victoria to that of Elizabeth II, a period which included two world wars, in both of which Churchill played a leading role. During his lifetime, the mass popular press came into its own, but then came under challenge from new media—newsreels, radio, and eventually TV.
The book tackles Churchill’s relationship with the news in three dimensions, first, his own journalism. Second, his efforts to influence or control what was said about him. Third, his evolving media image.
The book starts with the very earliest mentions media mentions of Churchill, the child of Lord Randolph Churchill, who was a renowned and mercurial Conservative politician. It continues until his death and funeral in 1965. During this period, the press was evolving and becoming ever more intrusive. During Churchill’s retirement he made plenty of trips abroad, and the paparazzi would follow him everywhere, trying for example to get shots of him painting, a favourite hobby of his.
The book also deals with the symbolism that surrounded Churchill and the way that he was portrayed. Now, if we think of an object we associate with him, we might think of a cigar. Earlier in his career, though, cartoonists typically drew him wearing a tiny hat. Churchill claimed this was due to an incident during an election campaign in which he picked up the wrong headgear when going outside. Certainly, he knew the value of having identifiable quirks and a colourful image that would ensure he got a lot of coverage.
I would say that the book is best read from start to finish but each chapter is self-contained and therefore hopefully useful in its own right to readers who are interested in particular phases of Churchill’s career.