The Press: No Place to Go but Up

On newsstands now inundated with naughties, nudies and assorted onetime no-noes, the bestselling hard-sex publication is Screw, the tabloid that has inspired imitation by more than a dozen equally raunchy rivals.

Screw's rags-to-riches story has been one of continuous legal troubles, but until now none of them had forced any change in format. Last month a three-judge panel in New York City's Criminal Court found it obscene, and Screw is taming itself a trifle in a sort of legal lobotomy.

The judges' objections went beyond the newspaper's editorial content—typically, unretouched photos of men and...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!