Splicetoday

Politics & Media
Jan 07, 2009, 05:28AM

A print daily with a working business model

When it comes to ad revenue, mug shots are the way to go.

Seems a little bit like a critique on our culture. But hey, a dead-tree rag is in the black. Someone call Jack Shafer:

Patrons grab copies. Some chuckle, some hunch over newsprint, and some simply gawk as they scan rows upon rows of mug shots and rap sheets in a frenzy that would spark envy in the hearts of newspaper publishers nationwide.

If “Jerry Springer” came in newsprint, The Slammer could be it – a garish compilation of the week’s local crimes and their alleged perpetrators. The men and women, with their dour mugs, bloodied noses, and booze-induced grins, have been arrested for everything from skipping a court date to robbing a food mart. It is, in essence, the local police blotter writ large.

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