This article explores the news management practices of the first Rudd government (2007–2010) and the extent to which they were responsible for both the government’s initial success and its later decline and the subsequent replacement as Prime Minister of Kevin Rudd. Based on confidential interviews with 15 media advisers who worked for ministers in the first Rudd government, the article draws conclusions about the nature of the ‘permanent campaign’ and the double-edged nature of spin.
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