Spin Control: The White House Office of Communications and the Management of Presidential News.

• Author: Raghavan, Sudarsan V.

Since the Clinton administration took office, it has used the White House Office of Communications to try and manipulate media coverage in many of the same ways as did the Reagan administration. In many respects it has succeeded, and in so doing, has raised longstanding concerns regarding the relationship between the media and the White House. In Spin Control, John Anthony Maltese offers an enlightening look at the issues surrounding presidential attempts to control the public agenda.

Some of the current administration's tactics have included restricting the access of the Whit!? House press, holding press conferences infrequently and circumventing the media through town meetings and talk shows. Indeed, the Clinton media team succeeded early in the term in sending unfiltered information to the public through the use of such sophisticated technology as electronic mail and satellite feeds. President Clinton may have best represented the current media-White House relationship when he unabashedly told journalists gathered for a radio and television correspondents' dinner: "You know why I can stiff you on the press conferences? Because Larry King liberated me by giving me to the American people directly."

Maltese effectively demonstrates that the new administration's tactics are, in fact, not new. The author, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, chronicles the evolution of the Office of Communications since its formation in 1969. Through extensive interviews with former media personnel and presidential image-makers, Maltese vividly recreates events with great attention to detail, producing an in-depth background that is invaluable in understanding the office's present-day efforts.

Maltese, however, fails to analyze adequately the broader issues attendant between the media and the president. The reaction of the media to White House attempts to dictate news flow and the impact of these efforts on democratic ideals either are glossed over or are conspicuously absent. The author exposes aspects of the modern presidency that are little-known to even the best informed citizens: He brings to light the concerns of every administration in dealing with the media and the White House's Machiavellian belief that tight control of information is essential for a stable term in office.

The Office of Communications is distinct from the White House Press Office, the latter of which facilitates presidential and Washington-based press...