The Chronicle’s big article today — first in a series! — on sex trafficking in San Francisco revealed the prevalence of prostitution in the city’s “Asian” massage parlors and the plight of the workers– some, or all, of whom (hard to tell from the article) were trafficked into the business

The giant headlines and gauzy, rather sexy picture of a former sex worker provide a classic example of having it both ways — selling newspapers by exploiting the very phenomenon they’re attacking. And am I the only person who thinks the article — which provides the URL of an online directory of massage parlors and goes a long way toward explaining how the whole thing works — is a virtual HOWTO for a would-be customer?

Among the interesting points is that the number of establishments has doubled in the last two years. And very few have closed since a well-publicized raid on one joint last year.