Strategic Management of Media Relations: Communications Centralization and Spin in the Government of Canada

Abstract

This article exposes the strategic planning of government personnel as they prepare to engage in media management and spin. It presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 17 Conservative-era insiders and more than 100 internal planning instruments obtained during the nascent period of Liberal governance under Justin Trudeau. Inward-facing media enquiry processing forms, media relations strategies, communications calendars, and rollout plans are discussed. Examples of a Message Event Proposal and a social media rollout template are presented. The author concludes that under Trudeau the Prime Minister's Office divested but understandably did not abandon central message control over ministers and departments.