It's usually news when the mainstream media decides to take on porn; most often, it's not so good.
Starting tonight, though, CNBC, the cable business network, is offering up a documentary program that actually might be promising, even quite progressive.
Titled Porn: Business of Pleasure, the special is designed to take what they call "an inside look" at how the industry is surviving (or not surviving) the economic pitfalls of late, and it interviews both performers (such as Jesse Jane), producers, and executives alike.
The website promoting the special includes a slideshow featuring highlights of the program, which will begin airing on CNBC starting at 9 PM EDT, with repeat broadcasts at 10 PM and 1 AM EDT.
They also promise frequent rebroadcasts in the future, so check your local listings, as the saying goes.
Update (7/19/09): Well...the good folks at Hulu have done us a great favor and posted a clip of the documentary in its entirity and generally commercial free...and they have also freely allowed folk to embed it to their sites/blogs. So, for those not having cable or not able to catch the doc, here it is for you.
Porn: Business of Pleasure (CNBC, via Hulu.com)
A sanctuary for supporters of sexual free expression and the adult sexual media.
CNBC also did the program on the high-end escorting and prostitution over all (or was that MSNBC?). I think they did pretty well with that and I didn't hear too many complaints about the angle from my colleagues. I can't wait to hear about it, as I don't have cable.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that's interesting about this show, given its relatively balanced and unsensational treatment of the material, is the reaction of corporate sponsors:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.xbiz.com/news/110644
I suppose if they'd interviewed James Dobson NewsBusters might have backed off, but when any MSM outlet dares to address porn in any way without giving equal time to those who hate it, even if what they say has no relevance to the material under discussion, both the Holy Joes and the rad-fems (I'm thinking of discarding this distinction altogether) line up with their baseball bats.
According to those good Christians at NewsBusters: “’Porn: Business of Pleasure’ is nothing more than an attempt to normalize, and even promote, the porn industry.”
Normalizing the porn industry... hmm. Where have I heard that rhetorical meme before?
Viewers, on the other hand, were apparently undeterred by the honking of the antis and the cowardice of the Wall Street fat cats at Schwab.
According to the folks at Nielsen, who keep track of viewership, CNBC scored big: 1,063,000 viewers in the 25-64 age range over the two prime time hours, up from the 232,000 viewers in the same combined time slots on Tuesday, an increase of almost 500%.
It would seem the public's appetite for un-spun info on the porn business remains strong despite efforts to keep it away from anything resembling an accurate portrayal of the industry.
But that won't stop the antis from trying to silence all objective reporting on this topic, or anything else related to sex commerce. However, ratings speak louder than ideologues in the competitive world of mass media, and that may be the most important takeaway from this whole non-controversy.
Thanks for the heads-up. I had forgotten about this, but made sure to record it, so I'll watch it shortly.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, I just went out tonight to see a doc called Graphic Sexual Horror. Its about the rise and fall of Insex.com and was one of the most interesting documentaries on sex or porn that I've seen in some time.
I'll put up a review in the next few days.
I'm a white dotter. If any one else is, this show is now available on hulu.
ReplyDeleteOutis
@Aspasia: Oh, but did you miss that other doc they did on escorting?? That was actually aired the night after the porn doc.
ReplyDelete@Outis: The actual link for the Hulu rebroadcast of Porn: Business of Pleasure is here. You have to sign up for Hulu's service to view the vid, since it is rated Mature, but it is free.
In fact....I can actually embed the vid onto this post...if there are no objections, then I will go ahead and do so.
Anthony
@Anthony: That's the one I was referring to in my first post. I remember when they filmed Amanda Brooks' reading @ Early2Bed here in Chicago. The crew was nice enough.
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