The Porning Report

Will Mickey Get a Hickey?

You may have read the headlines last week about cable distribution conglomerate Comcast's bid to purchase Walt Disney Company. Big deal, right? Yet another corporate takeover in world full of 'em, eh?

Well, what you likely haven't read about is that Comcast is one of the nation's largest cable television distributors of porn movies, adult channels, and pay-per-view programming. According to reports, last year Comcast earned an estimated $50 million from porn.

Many porn industry insiders are wondering whether Disney's conservative investors and board of directors will get past Comcast's porn background to do business with them? And beyond the folks at Disney, what about all of the family advocacy groups who enjoy protesting indecency so much? Their heads must be exploding with protest-happy glee at this news!

Yep, they are.

"A lot of us have concerns about some of the things that Disney does, but they still produce a lot of positive family-values movies," the president of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families told the Chicago Tribune.

"We don't believe Comcast is family-friendly," he continued. "The management of Comcast has shown no hesitation to distribute hardcore and softcore pornography. So what does that say about the product and environment of what Disney's going to produce in the years ahead?"

Indeed. What types of product will Disney be producing out after this merger? They've already lost their Pixar deal, which brought in most of their highest grossing animated films in recent history. They've already re-released most of their animated classics and milked their vaults for all their worth. So what's next? Maybe the Comcast crew will start making some creative suggestions: "Snow White and the Seven Giants"? "Two Ladies and a Tramp"? "Sex Toy Story"? I could go on...

The State of Unions

If you're looking for hard proof (forgive the pun) of the mainstreaming of pornography, just cruise on over the Las Vegas this week for two tradeshows, Internext and the Adult Entertainment Expo (visit the site to see some creative ways to wear admission badges), and immerse yourself in the throngs of porn fans and business people.

Internext is for the online-savvy. Webmasters, rev-sharers and affiliates meet, greet and schmooze, all intently trying to figure out how to keep making money in an otherwise slim economy. These attendees are the ones left from the great Internet boom, whose subscription-based digital flesh trade survived while free content took a major nose dive. However, even these folks are also wondering how they are going to fare in the long haul. For all of the hedonism and fun, there is an underlying sense of worry among adult Webmasters.

AEE (Disclosure: My employer, AVN, sponsors the event), on the other hand, is geared towards retail, video and DVD, and these folks are doing just fine in the current economy. In fact, companies like Vivid Entertainment Group, Wicked Pictures and Digital Playground are having banner years, with their contract girls making crossover appearances in mainstream, their titles selling at record numbers, and their profiles as high as can be (witness Vivid's Steve Hirsh favorably profiled on Fox last night). The drum beat here is jubilant and decadent, just like the porn biz used to be.

No matter which convention is to your liking, the very fact that these -- and many others that take place around the world -- are expanding every year, is evidence that business is growing quick and strong -- and that's good news in any industry.

Stormy Shines

Glossy mainstream men's magazine Femme Fatales recently announced their "The Sexy 50 of 2003" list and porn star Stormy Daniels landed at number 42.

The Wicked Pictures contract performer was the only porn star to make this list. Stormy, who is currently nominated for "AVN" magazine's Best New Starlet, writes many of her own features, is bright, sexy, charming and funny, and... oh yeah... has sex on camera for money and looks fantastic doing so.

Plus, it's just nice to see someone other than Jenna Jameson make the crossover. Not that there's anything wrong with Jenna, but let's open up the playing field a bit, eh?

NSFW - Not Safe For Work

As you might assume, from time to time this blog will link to sites that have content that might not be appropriate for all audiences. We strive to link only to places that offer news value, or are necessary for an understanding of the issues we're describing. But, when you read this blog about the porn industry and follow the links, you run the risk of finding something that offends you.

There are also sites that, though you personally might not mind them, your employer or co-workers might be of a different opinion. We mark those sites that are potentially explicit NSFW - Not Safe For Work. Regardless, we don't promise that all the other sites are safe, we don't know if a site has changed wince we linked to it, and we don't know where you work. So remember that while the links are our choices, clicking on them is your choice. Here's to safe surfing.

Working 9 To 5, It's a Way to Make a Livin'

Who would have imagined that when Linda Lovelace strutted her stuff across the silver screen in "Deep Throat" back in 1972 and caused a national furor, that being a pornographer would become such a reputable occupation? Back in the old days, being a porn star was akin to being a drug dealer or hooker in terms of a 9-to-5 occupation. You were dodging cops, giving the finger to the government, trying not to end up in cahoots with the mob, getting hit on or worse by lecherous men and risking catching a variety of diseases. Here in 2003, being in the porn biz is still a dicey game, but there are a group of organizations that are trying to better the porn community and make having sex on camera -- or broadcasting it via video, DVD or the Net -- a more reputable occupation to be in.

Former adult film star Sharon Mitchell co-founded Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM) as a non-profit corporation "to care for the physical and emotional needs of sex workers and the people who work in the adult entertainment industry." They offer HIV and STD testing and treatment, counseling and support-group programs with a goal to provide health care for "the body, mind, emotion, and spirit." New age-y sounding, sure, but they patrol the businesses and sets of the adult community insisting on AIDS test for all performers and offering vitamin shots for anyone interested. They also mandate the use of condoms in all production, the penalty being death, of course -- though this initiative seems to be a losing battle.

Contract girls for some of the bigger companies, such as Wicked Pictures, Vivid Entertainment Group and VCA Pictures, not only get paid as well as many legit actresses (and sometimes, waaaaay more) but they are offered health care packages and benefits like any other employee of the company.

"Of course they do," explained Wicked publicist Daniel Metcaff. "They are treated like any other employee here, except they get paid a lot more and don't have to come into the office 9-to-5."

Hey, this job is sounding better and better... sex, easy hours, vitamin shots... hmmmm...