One of our favorite Monday time-passers here at Crime Scene is scrolling through the freshly posted mugshots The Smoking Gun compiles from all over the country.
This week's collection includes the requisite pretty girls, funny T-shirts and bad haircuts. And my personal favorite, the woman at the left who's flipping the bird.
The mugshots must be a popular feature, or else I'm guessing TSG wouldn't post them every week.
The Palm Beach Post now links the latest county jail mugshots prominently on its homepage. That recently got New Times blogger Bob Norman questioning whether this application of public records is "appropriate for a serious newspaper."
An interesting debate. What do you think? Would you like to see the Herald post mugshots of every person who comes through the Miami-Dade and Broward jails?
**UPDATE: We do have a gallery of celebrity mugshots. Click here to see what everyone from muzak impresario Yanni to rock legend Jim Morrison to state Sen. Mandy Dawson looked like after their South Florida busts.
Another step away from legitimate news and towards infotainment. These mugshots have no legitimate news value. Besides, those people haven't been convicted of anything only arrested.
The only purpose of posting mugshots is for readers with a sophomoric sense of humor to have a laugh. Of course they won't be laughing when it's them or a member of their family on the receiving end. And that's only a matter of time.
Posted by: qlqban | June 02, 2008 at 07:46 PM
Another step away from legitimate news and towards infotainment. These mugshots have no legitimate news value. Besides, those people haven't been convicted of anything only arrested.
The only purpose of posting mugshots is for readers with a sophomoric sense of humor to have a laugh. Of course they won't be laughing when it's them or a member of their family on the receiving end. And that's only a matter of time.
Posted by: qlqban | June 02, 2008 at 07:48 PM