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4[[quoteright:350:[[Film/ThankYouForSmoking https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/media_scrum_1_2.jpg]]]]
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6From Rugby, a knot of reporters and camera men gathered around someone, usually a politician, each trying to shove forward to ask their questions and catch the answers to the others' questions. Also known as a "gangbang".
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8Often the questions are things that the interviewee has not or does not want to address in a press release or conference. The reporters can and will chase the politician to their car or office, only being diverted by the appearance of someone even more newsworthy.
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10Note, the scrum is the activity described, not the group of reporters themselves.
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12More common in the Commonwealth than elsewhere but ubiquitous in Canadian politics, where the scrum is considered one of the central facets of parliamentary democracy and a cornerstone of freedom of the press. Although certain individuals might choose not to participate (and might be judged accordingly), any government (federal or provincial) that tried to dispose of the scrum ''in toto'' might find itself out of a job. Scrums are taken ''that'' seriously, by everyone.
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14On the other hand, the scrum is almost unknown at the highest levels of American politics. The President especially would never be mobbed like this; that's what press conferences [[note]]and the Secret Service[[/note]] are for (in 2012, a reporter for an online publication attempted to scrum President Obama during an answer and found himself out of the White House Press Corps). The difference is likely to be related to the fact that the US President is both the head of state and the head of government, whereas the Prime Minister of Canada is merely the head of government, and heads of state are always considered of higher rank than heads of government. Protocol-wise the Prime Minister doesn't even come second in line after the actual Head of State, the King--he's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_order_of_precedence third!]][[note]]In most Commonwealth countries, there is a separation between the ''de jure'' head of state, the King, and the ''de facto'' head of state, a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor-general Governor-General]] who is a citizen of the country in question and appointed by the King based on the advice of the country's politicians; the Governor-General is the one who actually signs laws, calls elections, and decides [[UsefulNotes/PrimeMinistersOfAustralia whether to fire the Prime Minister]][[/note]]
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16Lesser politicians and non-politicians can expect them in the US, often from "less legitimate" news agencies. Anyone ''running'' for office--including the presidency--can expect to get scrummed (unless, of course, they're already President). Lower offices with smaller constituencies are more likely to have this happen; presidential candidates are more likely to get scrummed during the early primaries (where "retail politics" predominate). Whether this implies a greater respect for the subject's privacy or a lack of journalistic independence is a matter of some debate.
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18Because of the scrum's central role in Canadian politics, you'll see these featured in all kinds of shows. Comedians have even ''participated in scrums''; Mary Walsh of ''Series/ThisHourHas22Minutes'' once showed up to a scrum on Parliament Hill dressed as Xena and calling herself "Marg, Princess Warrior"--to the apparent amazement and delight of then-Prime Minister Paul Martin.
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20Media scrums are often fictionalized in KoreanSeries, often to the point of knocking down the person they want to interview.
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22Compare {{Paparazzi}}.
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24----
25!!Examples:
26[[foldercontrol]]
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28[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
29* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': A newspaper article with Hongo being subjected to this by the Mass Media club is briefly shown [[AdaptationExpansion in the anime]] after Kaguya scares him into dropping out the Student Council election.
30* ''Anime/TheRebirthOfBuddha'': Ever since she defeated the fleet of [=UFOs=] that wrecked the city during a summer festival, Sayako is constantly harassed by reporters who line up to interview her. However, talk-show host Mari Kimura sets up a press conference for her to reveal the truth of what happened, which the Sounen Group seeks to prevent at all costs.
31* ''Anime/ShinguSecretOfTheStellarWars'': InvokedTrope as Hajime's little sister Futaba imagines that this will happen to the Murata family as the leave the house [[spoiler: after their father disclosed the existence of aliens and the Japanese government's communications with them. DefiedTrope as their mother says things like that only happen in old movies as the series is set in the future of 2070.]]
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder: Comic Books]]
35* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', this happens to a distressed and flustered Doctor Manhattan. After a minute or two of the treatment, he cracks under pressure and teleports them all into the parking lot. This emotional outburst kickstarts the tide of public opinion turning against him.
36* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
37** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': In #18 a bunch of reporters force their way into General Darnell's office and swarm him with questions about a rumored secret weapon while taking a bunch of pictures before they're escorted out.
38** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': After Veronica Cale manipulates things so it looks like one of Wonder Woman's supporters murdered a man who'd been questioning her motives and calling for Wondy to no longer be upheld as a role model, Diana is accosted by a mass of reporters as she exits the Themysciran Embassy. Unlike most who have to deal with such reporters Diana doesn't mind and likes that people are paying attention to and questioning the man's murder.
39* In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman'', Clark Kent appears as a witness in court after spending one week missing. Clark is accosted by a throng of reporters as he exits the courthouse, everyone dying to know why, how and where he had disappeared to.
40[[/folder]]
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42[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]
43%%* It happens to Nick Naylor in ''Film/ThankYouForSmoking'', in slow motion.
44* ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance'' has a crazy crowd of journalists in front of Riggan's hospital room at the end. The police can barely keep them in check.
45[[/folder]]
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47[[folder: Literature]]
48%%* Juna and the aliens' exit from quarantine in ''[[Literature/TheColorOfDistance Through Alien Eyes]]'' is met with one of these. They don't have an agent at first to manage this sort of thing.
49* ''Literature/WetDesertTrackingDownATerroristOnTheColoradoRiver'': Large crowds of reporters accompany the governor of Nevada at Hoover Dam as he makes a press statement on the situation and the attempt to raise the dam with sandbags.
50* ''Literature/TheMermaid'': Amelia, a mermaid hired as an attraction by P.T. Barnum, attracts so much attention that even in her human form she can't go outside without being mobbed by reporters shouting questions at her.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder: Live Action TV]]
54* ''Series/BestLove'': Gu Ae-jung gets so jostled by reporters trying to interview her that she loses a shoe. But it does lead to a Literature/{{Cinderella}} moment with her guy.
55%%* Denny Crane shoves his way through with non sequiturs in ''Series/BostonLegal''.
56* ''Series/TheCityHall'': As both love interests are in political campaigns, they have to constantly duck around buildings and zigzag through the streets to avoid swarms of reporters.
57%%* It can commonly be seen on the courthouse steps in any given episode of ''Franchise/LawAndOrder''.
58* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' has been forced to deal with this occasionally. In one instance, the VictimOfTheWeek was starring on an exploitative RealityShow featuring models going through boot camp. Gibbs endured the reporters' shoving and jostling until one of them made him spill his coffee.
59* The ''Series/OddSquad'' episode "Odd Off The Press" has Reporterville, which is full of reporters. Of course, when Osmerelda Kim introduces herself as Opal's replacement in the Odd Squad Mobile Unit at a press conference in the town, reporters are quick to hound her about her role on the team and express shock when she tells them that she hasn't found her role yet. They also hound the Mobile Unit as a whole, especially when the Odd-skateers introduce themselves.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder: Visual Novels]]
63* In ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', after Dennis leaks new footage of the Barbarossa incident, reporters descend upon the school to ask questions of the protagonist (and presumably Tamara as well).
64* In Kaoru's route of ''VisualNovel/OurTwoBedroomStory'', the protagonist, who works for a magazine, ends up participating in such a scrum after the arsonist whose activities she and Kaoru have been covering [[spoiler:turns himself in]] and the media descends in droves on the police station. She takes advantage of the fact that she's smaller and nimbler than most in the overwhelmingly male crowd to navigate to the front and get some photos for her story.
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67[[folder: Webcomics]]
68%%* The world of ''Webcomic/FunnyFarm'' knows of them, too, as Ront [[http://www.funnyfarmcomics.com/index.php?date=2009-04-10 found out]].
69* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': The trope gets averted upon the crew's return from the Denmark expedition, as grand total of three reporters show up to greet them. This doesn't keep Sigrun from reacting as if a much bigger group had shown up.
70* ''{{Webcomic/Unsounded}}'': When Toma's death is announced a swarm of reporters gather outside his wife's home, eagerly pestering any and all visitors with questions while Emne stays inside with her grief.
71[[/folder]]
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