Still, whether it was personally overseeing each picture that went into his political advertising, or directing the leader of Germany to the best spot for a photo opportunity, Mitterrand did such a thorough job of controlling his image when he was alive that historians may find it difficult to sort out fact from spin control.
If Newsweek had a particularly timely photo slideshow or video or essay it could get a spot on MSN which meant a huge traffic bonanza, 5 or 10 million page views at a time.
When we reached Pisa and its charmingly goofy tower, each of us took turns standing at the perfect spot, grimacing, arms outstretched, for the photo of ourselves holding up the tower.