ABSTRACT
The mass media, it seems, can make even the most powerful appear powerless. Even politicians who enjoy a reputation for being ‘media performers’ profess concerns. ‘No Prime Minister’, Mrs Thatcher confessed, ‘can afford to quarrel with the media, because it is difficult to win.’ 1 At a time when elections are judged by politicians and pundits alike to be won or lost on television and in the headlines and editorials of the national popular press, it is perhaps not surprising that many politicians find their relationships with broadcasters and journalists a daunting business.
