Understanding the relationship between politics and the media is the mission of Sally Young’s book, and the finished product stands as a fine example of scholarship that bridges political science, journalism and sociology. A generation ago, “meta-coverage” of political news was rare. In a much more technologically diverse media environment, political news in the twenty-first century now includes a fair slice of “meta-coverage”, where news consumers — usually in television commentary programs such as Insiders or satirical programs such as The Chaser — are treated to “hidden” information on how journalists and politicians interact, especially in terms of the “push-pull” strategies that so often strain politician-journalist relationships.