Pre-broadcast courtroom oratory doubled as public entertainment

Evidence

Some such courtroom speeches have come down to us; by modern standards, they seem flowery and overblown, full of purple passages. But in the days before radio and television, these speeches were not merely the key to a lawyer’s reputation, a way to catch the eye and ear of potential clients, they were also a form of public entertainment. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 1222

Categorization

• XREF: Resonates with ch.28’s point that trial culture and publicity shifted as media changed. — connects to: Early nineteenth-century lawyer fame rested on courtroom oratory — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 1221; Trials served as public entertainment before broadcast media existed — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1863; Public readers commanded patient audiences in preindustrial plazas — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 163

Broader Connections

• Trials served as public entertainment before broadcast media existed #corroborates (0.95) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1863
• Public readers commanded patient audiences in preindustrial plazas #corroborates (0.70) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 163