I was watching the movie Chicago a couple days ago, and in the movie a lawyer gets the protagonist out of a murder charge by doing press conferences with her and lying to the press to generate sympathy.
Back then, was the public so interested in criminals that the press actually spoke to them in this manner?
One of the biggest trials of the 1930s was the custody hearing(?) of the actress Mary Astor, which the press just ate up, especially because Astor had a diary detailing sexual encounters with several famous actors.