海角大神

Looking like a 鈥�Goodfellas鈥�-别谤补 Ray Liotta, Isaac Cornetti strolls into the Raleigh Times restaurant here in a faded corduroy jacket. He鈥檚 carrying a stack of his famous 鈥� and infamous 鈥� tabloid newspaper, The Slammer.

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 鈥�Jerry Springer鈥� came in newsprint, The Slammer could be it 鈥� a garish compilation of the week鈥檚 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.

To devoted readers, The Slammer and similar publications 鈥� like Cellmates in Florida鈥檚 Tampa Bay area and Jail in Orlando 鈥� perform a valuable public service, putting the gritty side of life on display and even protecting the community from predatory criminals.

鈥淚t really lets you know what鈥檚 going on around you,鈥� says Omar Williams, a Raleigh bail bondsman who advertises every week in The Slammer and 鈥� no surprise 鈥� reaches a lot of clients through its pages. 鈥淵ou could see your best friend in there for forging checks or selling cocaine, and he鈥檚 driving around in the car with you, and you don鈥檛 know this stuff.鈥�

Critics, on the other hand, see the papers as sensational, tawdry, and ethically dubious 鈥� a modern form of the 鈥渃rime rags鈥� that flourished in the heyday of early 20th-century yellow journalism. 鈥淭his is a sad commentary on the state of American journalism,鈥� says Bob Steele, a journalism ethics expert at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really painful to know that so many publications are struggling terribly and something as schlocky as this is succeeding.鈥�

And succeeding it is. At a time when dozens of US newspapers are searching for buyers and for cash, The Slammer鈥檚 newsstand profit margin is four times that of most local dailies, and its circulation has grown to 29,000 鈥� up nearly 50 percent from 20,000 just last year. At more than 500 convenience stores across North Carolina, it鈥檚 selling at a buck a pop.

In fact, the chief complaints the weekly paper gets come from perps complaining that their photos didn鈥檛 get printed. In February, the paper will expand its operations from three major North Carolina counties 鈥� including the cities of Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham 鈥� to add Columbus, Ohio.

鈥⑩赌⑩赌�

Mr. Cornetti 鈥� 鈥淒ash Dangerfield鈥� on the masthead 鈥� is a 30-something publisher with a thick shock of hair and a Philip Marlowe fascination with America鈥檚 鈥渟immering undercurrent of low-level crime.鈥� To him, The Slammer offers entertainment and, yes, social value as well, tracing the thin line many Americans tread between upstanding behavior and the occasional lapse into lawlessness.

鈥淵ou look at this paper, and you鈥檙e amazed by the amount of illegal stuff going on in what you thought was a sleepy little city,鈥� he says, referring to Raleigh. 鈥淭he appeal is voyeurism and schadenfreude, and it has some redeeming qualities, too, like helping people protect themselves, their families, and their businesses.鈥�

Cornetti, the son of a well-to-do Smithfield, N.C., family, spent a lot of time in courtrooms as a kid: His mother worked at the courthouse, and during Cornetti鈥檚 middle-school summers, he spent days watching lawyers and judges, then went home to watch 鈥淟aw and Order,鈥� 鈥�Perry Mason,鈥� and 鈥�Matlock.鈥�

In his late teens and early 20s, he ran afoul of the law himself, and spent a year serving time for drug and larceny charges involving marijuana and a stolen TV. After that, he says, he grew interested in practicing law, and took the LSAT in 2004 in hopes of becoming a criminal attorney.

Instead, he took a series of entrepreneurial jobs in sales and software, then read about Jail (the Orlando-based publication) on a business trip and was inspired. He hopes The Slammer can become 鈥渢he kind of wake-up call that I wish I鈥檇 had when I was younger.鈥�

To some extent, that may be happening: Some readers claim they鈥檝e thought twice about drinking and driving, for fear of ending up in The Slammer. And Slammer readers have helped Charlotte police locate several felons with major warrants, Cornetti says.

Even when arrests turn out not to be justified, Cornetti insists, The Slammer can do some good. A Charlotte lawyer who is in the process of trying to settle a case with the police department for what he says was a wrongful arrest recently contacted him. The client had appeared in The Slammer.

鈥淥bviously we won鈥檛 run a correction,鈥� says Cornetti of cases like these. 鈥淏ut we鈥檇 be happy to tell a client鈥檚 story.... If people are being arrested unlawfully, The Slammer is going to be a barometer for that.鈥�

A die-hard reader of the Sunday New York Times, Cornetti is modest in his assessment of his own publication, which is produced by a staff of 12. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think [The Slammer] deserves the 鈥榡ournalism鈥� title,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut we do try to present research and we hope that when [readers are] finished with the newspapers, they鈥檝e learned something.鈥�

鈥⑩赌⑩赌�

More colorful and more professionally produced than its counterparts, The Slammer鈥檚 eclectic spread includes features such as the 鈥淪lammer Salon鈥� of crazy arrest-night hairdos; a 鈥渕ug shot extravanganza [sic]鈥� of the bleary-eyed; the 鈥淜iddie Korner鈥� of busted young adults; and 鈥淢ature Menaces,鈥� featuring senior alleged larcenists and check forgers. A Wendell, N.C., woman was singled out for repeated driving violations, becoming a recent edition鈥檚 鈥渇eatured impaired driver.鈥�

鈥淥h, Monique,鈥� the text goes, 鈥淎ren鈥檛 you feeling weak? So upset you can hardly speak? Knightdale Police done punched your card. Now from walking you鈥檒l be 鈥榯ard鈥� [tired]. Left-right-left-right.鈥�

Shakespeare it鈥檚 not. But to fans of such tabloids, like St. Petersburg, Fla., resident Courtney Doerr, a regular reader of Cellmates, they鈥檙e 鈥渟treet poetry.鈥� And The Slammer runs more sober pieces, too: A recent editorial came down against the death penalty.

Even some police officials see little difference between the role of The Slammer and those of more prestigious media outlets. These modern crime rags 鈥渕ay well be reaching some readers that the daily circulation papers don鈥檛 on a regular basis,鈥� says Jim Sughrue, a spokesman for the Raleigh Police Department. 鈥淚 would say there鈥檚 a value to these publications.鈥�

But critics say ridiculing people who remain innocent in the eyes of the Constitution is the definition of unethical. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e basically creating a miniature billboard in which these individuals are named and visually identified, often pejoratively, in a way that does not give them a fair hearing,鈥� says Mr. Steele at Poynter.

Indeed, Mike Hoyt, editor of the Columbia Journalism Review in New York, calls the publications barely a 鈥渟tep up from the stocks.鈥�

But Randall Brown has a different take. An avid reader of Cellmates, Mr. Brown is also a regular feature: He claims he鈥檚 been in Cellmates 10 times, all for misdemeanor alcohol violations, and he doesn鈥檛 mind the publicity. In his view, all of us are just a banana peel-slip away from arrest. 鈥淓verybody makes mistakes 鈥� the Bible says so,鈥� he says. 鈥淧eople love to gossip.鈥�

That love of gossip and the longing to know 鈥� drives older than newsprint itself 鈥� may be Cornetti鈥檚 most reliable sales force. Philip Isley, a lawyer and Raleigh city councilor, likens The Slammer to 鈥渙ur own little 鈥�Entertainment Tonight鈥� weekly.鈥�

鈥淐learly, there鈥檚 a morbid desire for people to know exactly what鈥檚 going on criminally in the community,鈥� he says, suggesting that awareness 鈥渃an have a great deterrent effect, notwithstanding the thrillseekers who enjoy seeing their mug shot in print.鈥�

Back at the Raleigh Times restaurant, where Cornetti is a minor celebrity, one group of barstool readers is trying to determine if a friend鈥檚 boyfriend, who supposedly got arrested recently, is in the paper. Cornetti gets up for a few minutes and returns to the table. He nods back toward the server, who had eagerly grabbed The Slammer when he came in. 鈥淪he just told me she was in it in May,鈥� he says.

Apparently, she harbored no hard feelings.