Talk about wasting my breath: Two days ago I got on my soapbox and complained about a series of inappropriate remarks by criminal defense lawyer E. Stewart Jones in a rape case. I ended the post with the plea:
I also hope that local media, especially tv, will stop giving defense counsel such as Jones so much coverage. Neither defensive boilerplate nor offensive balderdash is news.
I then sent the anchor of my favorite local news channel a copy of the posting, emphasizing that last statement. That evening, I tuned into Channel 10, WTEN, to see if they had anything to say about the Boxley-Jones-NOW flap. The very first announcement at the top of the hour was:
News 10 at 5 is brought to you by the Law Firm of E. Stewart Jones.
Jones is also a leading personal injury lawyer in this region, thus his significant advertising presence. So far, the anchor has not responded to my email message. Am I too naive or too cynical?
Afterthought (02-29-04): Add slow learner to my job evaluation. Back in 1997, I tried to get media attention for the misleading ads and related unethical conduct of this attorney. The story got no coverage, and I got no response from the broadcast and print media to my correspondence. At the time, said attorney was the biggest lawyer advertiser on every local tv news show, and took out daily ads in every local newspaper, including full-page ads once a week or more. It is estimated that as many as 20,000 clients bought his debt reduction scam (losing thousands of dollars each), before his federal indictment in 2003.
Now, if I can only figure out why the friendly consumer-advocates and fearless investigating reporters at each local tv station have time to run down one-man roofing pirates, but no air time to discuss the issue of standard contingency fees (e.g., lack of price advertising, consumers uninformed about their right to negotiate fee levels)..