Las Vegas Review-Journal - Thomas Mitchell

When we published this past Sunday a story on the law enforcement crackdown on the most prolific prostitutes on the Strip I did not anticipate the level of consternation over the display on the front page of two dozen booking mugshots of women already arrested since the crackdown began.

Nor did I anticipate the barrage of snide remarks that would be posted online about the lack of pulchritude among the women depicted. There have been nearly 500 comments appended the story so far. I’m sorry, I think some people have watched the movie “Pretty Woman” too many times. There was not a Julia Roberts look-alike in the bunch, but no need to be so mean.

On his KNPR-FM public radio gabfest Wednesday morning, Dave Berns rounded up a bevy of hand-wringing sob sisters to bemoan the newspaper’s lack of sensitivity toward these poor working girls who were now being stigmatized by having their less than flattering booking mugs splashed across the front page.

Berns accusingly asked me if it wasn’t misogynistic for a bunch of middle-aged and older white men to decide to publish photos of arrested women.

No. We are a newspaper reporting on important issues. The photos dramatically illustrated the story. We’re not in the business of withholding information from our readers. I told him we are in the business of selling newspapers to people who wish to be informed about what is going on in their community.

Later, after I’d left the program for an editorial board meeting, one of Berns’ guests picked up on my unapologetic remark about selling newspapers and accused me of “pimping out” the women.

We're not social workers. We're journalists.

Read more on this topic in my Sunday column. Come on, shell out a couple bucks and buy a paper.

In the meantime, indulge your unrealistic fantasies.