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"In old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press. That is an improvement certainly. But still it is very bad, and wrong, and demoralizing. ....We are dominated by Journalism."
---Oscar Wilde, 1891
In a homage to its power, the news media is sometimes sardonically called, The Fourth Estate, and woe betide those who attempt to do battle with it. Medway-Franklin State Rep. Jeff Roy has found that he has fallen from grace with New England’s largest newspaper, the Boston Globe, and there is no catching a break from the former Lords of Morrissey Boulevard.
Last week, the Globe issued yet another news story about Roy, whom the Globe faulted starting back in December for his relationship with a leading lobbyist.
The coverage ever since has been unrelenting and centers on a broad reading of the legislature’s conflict of interest policies, focusing not on any proven quid pro quo but on the “look” of Roy’s relationship, since the lobbyist in question often was involved in matters decided by the Committee on Telecommunications and Energy, which Roy chaired.
The most recent Globe piece focused on Roy’s attempts to defend his reputation from the newspaper with the help of lawyers and on accusations he made about the Globe in what presumably was an intimate gathering of Medway Democrats.
Whether the Globe had a reporter there, relied on hearsay, or obtained a recording of the event was not made clear in the reporting but the article included quotes from Roy saying the Globe had committed ” journalistic malpractice," at least in part because Roy believes the Globe improperly obtained information from court filings related to his divorce.
For its part, the Globe story included a slap back from a Globe editor, Nancy Barnes, “ The Globe’s mission is to report the truth every day, and we stand behind our reporting on this story...Any documents used in its preparation were obtained legally.”
The full article can be found here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/14/metro/jeffrey-roy-lobbyist-jennifer-crawford-boston-globe/ Non-subscribers can access the Globe through both the Franklin and Medway library web site (with a library card). Franklin, select Online Resources and then Boston Globe. Medway select Books and More, Research Databases and then News.
