Out Of The Shadows

Those who brief, cajole, artfully misdirect or just plain herd the press on behalf of big-time politicians obey a few crucial rules of the road to keep their bosses (and themselves) out of trouble. Rule 1: Stay behind the scenes; the media adviser should never become the story. Rule 2: Don't be nasty; you may disagree with reporters, you may tussle with them, but browbeating eventually backfires. Rule 3: Under no circumstances attack the media as a whole. They are jealous of their prerogatives, and buy ink by the barrel.

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's director of communications and...