In wartime, it is not only success on the battlefield that determines victory. Winning hearts and minds is a vital part of military strategy and relies in large part on the effective management of how and what information is reported from the front.

This illuminating study explores how the Canadian military developed and relied on public relations units to manage news during the Second World War. The soldiers assigned to these units, mainly former journalists, were responsible for censoring information, supervising and assisting war correspondents, coordinating policy with the Allies, and ensuring the steady flow of news to Canada.

Using public relations case studies from Dieppe, the Sicilian campaign, and Normandy that reveal clashes among individual commanders and politicians, the press, the military, the government, and the Canadian public, The Information Front offers a balanced and intelligent discussion of how the military used censorship and propaganda to rally support for the war effort.

Timothy Balzer's profile page

Timothy Balzer has taught at the University of Victoria and for the Continuing Studies Division of the Royal Military College of Canada.

A well-researched and well-thought out study of how the Army’s public relations apparatus functioned during the greatest war in Canadian history … Balzer’s is a most interesting book, a fine academic study that deserves a wide readership.

Canadian Military Journal, vol. 12, no. 2, Spring 2012

A thorough, balanced, and thoughtful examination of how the Canadian Army used censorship and propaganda to rally Canadians behind World War II.

Journalism History, 37:2 (Summer 2011)