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This article focuses on events surrounding the Ottawa mission led by Lord Riverdale. Between October and December 1939 the mission met the Canadian Prime Minister William Mackenzie King, his Cabinet and a number of Dominion representatives, its goal to agree on arrangements for the British Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). This plan would ultimately play a vital role in the British and Dominion war effort, training over 100 000 men for air duties in a variety of theatres of conflict. But, although the negotiations were hailed at their conclusion as having been a great success, the reality was that they were dominated by considerable tensions not just among those present but also between elements within Whitehall and the Canadian leadership. On repeated occasions it appeared that the talks might even collapse and at one stage a constitutional crisis loomed. Far from the success that has since been portrayed to have been the case, the negotiations in fact demonstrated that considerable potential problems existed with regard to the wartime Anglo-Dominion relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the digital age, journalists are becoming more susceptible to the packaged visuals of politicians that image handlers are pushing electronically in an attempt to circumvent and influence the mainstream media. These managed photos and videos communicate officialdom, voyeurism, and pseudo-events, ranging from routine government business to a personal side of political leaders. They are designed to frame the subject in a positive light and to promote a strategic image. This article submits that demand for digital handouts of visuals, or “image bytes,” is stimulated by economics and institutional accommodation, including the constant need for Web content and journalists’ eroding access to government officials. A profile of the image management of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper illustrates the jockeying between politicians, PR staff, and journalists over news selection, pseudo-events, framing and gatekeeping. Insights from 32 interviews with Canadian journalists and Conservative party insiders suggests that a two-tier media system is emerging between the small news operations that welcome digital handouts and the mainstream journalists who are opposed. Theoretical themes for international research include examining the implications of political image bytes such as the possible priming effect on journalists who are exposed to constant visual e-communication pushed by political offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]