TY - JOUR
T1 - Sir Frank Packer and the leadership of the Liberal Party, 1967-71
AU - Griffen-Foley, Bridget
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - This article considers the role of Sir Frank Packer and his media outlets in the demise of Sir John Gorton in 1971 and the elevation of Sir William McMahon to the leadership of the Liberal Party and the Prime Ministership of Australia. It identifies Packer's long association with McMahon and traces the part played by Australian Consolidated Press in the intra-party struggle of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. The article argues that while Packer and some of his employees, particularly the Daily Telegraph's political correspondent Alan Reid, helped to destabilise Gorton's leadership, it is much too simplistic to suggest, as many observers have, that a 'Packer plot' was executed in 1971. The article, which examines what is represented as a key instance of a media proprietor exercising undue influence in the political process, serves as a historical case study of the relationship between the news media and political parties in Australia.
AB - This article considers the role of Sir Frank Packer and his media outlets in the demise of Sir John Gorton in 1971 and the elevation of Sir William McMahon to the leadership of the Liberal Party and the Prime Ministership of Australia. It identifies Packer's long association with McMahon and traces the part played by Australian Consolidated Press in the intra-party struggle of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. The article argues that while Packer and some of his employees, particularly the Daily Telegraph's political correspondent Alan Reid, helped to destabilise Gorton's leadership, it is much too simplistic to suggest, as many observers have, that a 'Packer plot' was executed in 1971. The article, which examines what is represented as a key instance of a media proprietor exercising undue influence in the political process, serves as a historical case study of the relationship between the news media and political parties in Australia.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035732154&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10361140120100686
DO - 10.1080/10361140120100686
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035732154
SN - 1036-1146
VL - 36
SP - 499
EP - 513
JO - Australian Journal of Political Science
JF - Australian Journal of Political Science
IS - 3
ER -