Preservation of American Hellenic History
Preservation of American Hellenic History
by Jason C. Mavrovitis
Immediately following the inquest newspapers reported the details of the case for the world to see. On 11 August 1927, the New York American ran the byline:
On the same day in a lengthier article, The New York Times recounted Lily's entire testimony with the byline:
The most scandalous report was in the American Weekly, a tabloid newspaper with 21½ by 16½ inch pages. The byline of the full-page article read:
A drawing was published of an artist's conceptions of James Tsavalas as a handsome and distinguished man in a top hat. A photo was published of the "Attractive Home" on Ovington Avenue. These were the least humiliating of the graphics published.
The American Weekly, true to the tabloid ethic, greatly exaggerated and distorted the facts. For example, it reported:
When Mrs. Ellen Perma, who comes of an aristocratic Greek family with considerable money [...]
Nothing could have been further from the truth! However, this article and those in the New York American and The New York Times made Lily's personal tragedy public to the entire Greek community.
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