A study investigated whether newspaper mug shots are perceived by readers as being positive or negative in tone and whether the mug shots that are selected match the roles of their subjects in accompanying stories. Twenty-three news and feature stories with associated mug shots were clipped from seven daily newspapers. Pictures and stories were then separated, and the pictures were distributed to 51 undergraduate students who were asked to indicate whether each photo gave them a positive, negative, or neutral impression of the subject. The stories that had originally accompanied the pictures were distributed to a different group of 66 undergraduates who were also asked to state their impressions of the subjects in stories. Analysis of the results indicated that readers agree significantly on their impressions of subjects in the stories, as did the group who viewed only the mugshots. The fact that the impressions of the subjects were similar whether the story was read or the mugshot alone was viewed indicates that editors may have based their selection of accompanying photos on their subjective impressions of the stories. In the interest of remaining fair and impartial, editors should exercise caution in their selection of mug shots. (Tables of findings are included). (DF)