Difference between revisions of "Keith McDowall"
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| + | :Keith McDowall of the Daily Mail was media minder for Willie Whitelaw, Michael Foot and a range of other Labour Ministers.<ref>Paul Routledge '[http://www.bjr.org.uk/data/2001/no4_routledge It may pay — but journalism it ain't]' ''British Journalism Review'', Vol. 12, No. 4, 2001, pages 31-35</ref> | ||
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| + | According to former government information officer [[Stephen Reardon]]: | ||
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| + | :From there, I moved to what was then called the Department of Employment and Productivity, where I cut some more teeth under [[Bernard Ingham]], later Mrs Thatcher's Press Secretary, and then Keith McDowall. Ingham and McDowall were robust in their defence of Government policies, but there remained a strict divide between political figures who worked for the party in power and Civil Service information officers, who were required to remain unbiased, non-political and incorruptible. We were expected to do our job to the best of our ability, for whoever was in power and however the policies might change. But that strict convention was undermined within days of New Labour's arrival in Whitehall.<ref>'[http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-462464/If-media-feral-Tony-Blair-craven-manipulation-Civil-Service-blame.html If the media is feral, Tony Blair only has his craven manipulation of the Civil Service to blame]' By STEPHEN REARDON, ''Mail on Sunday'', Last updated at 22:38 16 June 2007 </ref> | ||
==Affiliations== | ==Affiliations== | ||
Revision as of 09:17, 10 November 2008
- Keith McDowall of the Daily Mail was media minder for Willie Whitelaw, Michael Foot and a range of other Labour Ministers.[1]
According to former government information officer Stephen Reardon:
- From there, I moved to what was then called the Department of Employment and Productivity, where I cut some more teeth under Bernard Ingham, later Mrs Thatcher's Press Secretary, and then Keith McDowall. Ingham and McDowall were robust in their defence of Government policies, but there remained a strict divide between political figures who worked for the party in power and Civil Service information officers, who were required to remain unbiased, non-political and incorruptible. We were expected to do our job to the best of our ability, for whoever was in power and however the policies might change. But that strict convention was undermined within days of New Labour's arrival in Whitehall.[2]
Affiliations
Notes
- ↑ Paul Routledge 'It may pay — but journalism it ain't' British Journalism Review, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2001, pages 31-35
- ↑ 'If the media is feral, Tony Blair only has his craven manipulation of the Civil Service to blame' By STEPHEN REARDON, Mail on Sunday, Last updated at 22:38 16 June 2007
