On July 15, CNBC aired a special highlighting the industry’s financial woes. Then the Los Angeles Times did the same Aug. 10, in the article: “Tough Times in the Porn Industry.” Ben Fritz's article described the same economic problems the industry is facing, a weak economy, online porn and piracy, but failed to include any industry critics or point out negative aspects of porn.
Instead, Fritz focused on a porn actress who is struggling financially. He said Savannah Stern used to earn $150,000 a year, but now only makes a $50,000. Stern used to drive a Mercedes, but Fritz wrote, “She’s replacing it with a used Chevy Trailblazer-from her parents.”
Stern lamented that, “The opportunities in this industry really are disappearing. It’s extremely stressful.”
And she is not alone. Stern said that at a recent job, she had five other women say that they too were not working as often. The work has decreased so much that, “many performers have also changed their minds about what they are willing to do onscreen. Previously, women earned hefty bonuses for unusual sex scenes. That’s often no longer the case.”
Critics of pornography, like Michael Leahy whose marriage was destroyed by his addiction, would probably argue the less porn the better. A 2007 CMI study found that pornography industry supports, “a legal and media culture that is hostile to traditional values and is transfixed on atomistic individualism at the expense of families, communities and ultimately nations.”
But those points weren’t mentioned by Fritz, who examined the causes of the industry’s woes. The internet piracy is one problem. But even though piracy affects other industries, like the music industry, Fritz said that the porn industry’s “problems appear to be more severe.”
Porn is easy to access on sites like YouTube and Fritz acknowledged that, “At least five of the 100 top websites in the U.S. are portals for free pornography … The porn sites are even bigger than Pirate Bay, the top portal for illegal downloads of movies, TV shows and music.” It is also easy for children and teens to access porn online, something else Fritz ignored.
Fritz pointed out the drop in attendance of the Adult Entertainment Expo and pay-per-view programming. As for Stern, she is “adjusting to reality,” including “shooting her own subscription website and planning a tour of exotic dance clubs.”
