Media & Government Series: Ministers & the Media

Ministers & the Media

The Media and Government series is a collaborative partnership of events and new thinking from the Institute for Government and Fishburn Hedges. For updates on the Media and Government series and information about forthcoming events go to www.mediaandgovernment.co.uk or follow us on Twitter
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Do the media really influence government as much as we think they do?

Tony Blair famously compared the modern media to a ‘feral beast'. In recent research, both Ministers and civil servants identified media pressure as a potential block to good policy making. But do the media really influence government as much as we think they do?

In conversation with Peter Riddell (Director, Institute for Government) was Alastair Campbell,(former Director of Communications & Strategy to Tony Blair), and Chris Mullin, (political diarist and former Labour minister; MP for Sunderland South 1987 - 2010) 

They discussed:

• Is Ministerial spin less pronounced these days, or worse than ever?
• Do Ministers do too much media, and not enough implementation?
• How can Ministers strike the right balance between headlines and long-term change?
• What's the best approach to a Ministerial memoir?

More information

• Watch a video of this event