Western democratic governments spend millions each year attempting to 'spin' their policies to their constituents via the news media. While some of this is transparent in the form of government advertising, much is surreptitious and takes the form of sophisticated and often secret strategies to manipulate and influence journalists to publish positive material about the incumbent government and to hide or play down negative coverage. This article, part of a larger collaborative study of spin, traces the history of government media relations with a special focus on Australia and uses that democracy as a case study of spin techniques.