About: Next Friends suit

The "Next Friends" suit of 1907 was a lawsuit instigated by the New York World regarding Mary Baker Eddy, a religious leader from New England. The suit was an early example of "trial by media", and became one of the largest media spectacles of the first few years of the twentieth century, with at least 2,800 articles written by various newspapers. William Upton wrote that the tactics used "foreshadowed the more public litigation style that became commonplace toward the end of the century." The suit is also credited as one of the major influences in Eddy's decision the following year to create The Christian Science Monitor.