Virtually every government communication in a modern democracy is formulated and evaluated in the context of spin. The Origins of Modern Spin traces its origins to the period 1945-51 when the post-war Labour government, and its media architect, Herbert Morrison, moved from an idealistic commitment to open communication towards the pragmatic relationship with the media that exists today. The attempt to control the interpretation of a communication as well as the communication itself has become an integral part of modern governance.Based on original, archival research, this book explodes the notion that information management is a recent phenomenon. By 1951, the framework within which subsequent British governments would seek to manage the media - up to and including New Labour after 1997 - had been set. This gripping story is told using government correspondence, contemporary newspapers, films, radio broadcasts, newsreels and previously unpublished private diaries, and is indispensable to an understanding of the way contemporary governments communicate - and thereby govern.