On Sunday mornings, CBC Radio One has been running an excellent series on political spin and the news media.
You can find the programs web page here, along with archived interviews and audio files for the hour-long episodes. The Ep 4 one is here.
Episode 4 is on political spin, leaks and the planting of stories as a means of influencing news coverage. Interestingly, one of the chief spin practitioners interviewed is a former journalist who later went to work for Mike Harris. There is also a great interview with a guy who was a respected journalist and a respected communications guy and who is now the respected senator Jim Munson.
Of course, local news media aren't spun by politicians. Heavens no. It's not like you'd ever hear local reporters say phrases are that are almost identical to words that will later come from a politician's mouth.
Like that Goudie and Hickey were different from the "others" because the amounts were small and the whole thing was just sloppy administration at the House of Assembly.
Or that the New Democrats will be or already are the real opposition party in the province.
Local reporters being spun by politicians?
How could you even think such a thing?
Next thing you know, you'll be saying that the Confed Building sends callers to talk shows with talking points to support government's spin agenda.
Seriously though, in the interests of becoming much more media savvy, in order to learn how the sausages are indeed made far too frequently, give Spin Cycles a listen.
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Update: And when you're done with that, take a gander at Simon Lono's take on spin.