This is the first volume to chronicle the story of the evolution of the symbiotic relationship between the presidential press secretaries and reporters who covered White House news during the terms of presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush. The book reveals how the presidential press secretaries' role has evolved from old-fashioned public relations into a smooth-working system of releasing news and responding to reporters' questions at daily briefings by portraying the president in the best possible light. The author ferrets out new, anecdotal information and includes interviews with well known personalities - including former White House press secretaries and notable journalists who have covered the White House. He brings to life the personalities and views of every presidential spokesman on how the job has grown in stature as the press secretaries or "spin-meisters" have become high-profile officials.The author reveals how the tension between government and the media - normally healthy in any democracy - has resulted in the manipulation of facts and the release of favourable "official" news. It started subtly in the Roosevelt administration and has been carefully honed with the transformation of the media in the information and technology revolution; he shows how it has been refined to the point where it is now recognized for what it is: slanting or packaging the news in favour of the president to make it acceptable - even desired - by the public. Perception quickly becomes reality, and once the "facts" of a situation have been accepted by the establishment - politicians and the press alike - it becomes virtually impossible to change people's minds about them.