Could Paul Fishbein be the next editor of the New York Times?

If you're wondering who Paul Fishbein is, read on*. If you know who he is, but can't imagine him at the helm of the Great Gray Lady, then read this weekend's hard-hitting piece "For Pornographers, Internet's Virtues Turn to Vices" and marvel at the possibilities.

The article--which wouldn't have been news five years ago when the events it details were becoming evident to everyone in the adult industry--represents only the most recent example of the Times lowering its standards (think sub-sub-basement at this point) in an effort to keep its weekend editions spicy.

In this article we learn, believe it or not, that the internet is having an impact on porn production. We also learn that in response to this brand new medium (it's spelled i-n-t-e-r-n-e-t) porn producers are coming up with ways to draw customers back, like better lighting and foil packaging. We learn that the porn industry is worth $13 billion (the Times seems to insist on repeating this wholly unverifiable number whenever they get a chance).

We hear from a colorful cast of characters, none of whom represent anything new or cutting edge in the industry. It's possible that they're the ones who bothered to return the Times' phone calls.

In short, while there may be information in this article you wouldn't know if you didn't follow the porn industry, there isn't anything resembling news, nor is there anything newsworthy, or even titillating. But the article does have the word pornographer in the title and as of today it's the second most blogged about article (something I'm feeling no small amount of guilt about as I type this) and the most emailed technology article. So I guess it’s a job well done?

*Paul Fishbein is the president of Adult Video News Media Network which publishes AVN, the most widely cited adult industry trade publication, he's also quoted in almost all Times coverage of porn, but rarely is it mentioned that his company represents producers, not consumers, and as such what we hear from AVN is what pornographers who advertise in AVN want us to hear. In many ways Paul Fishbein has done more to legitimize the porn industry and help it into the mainstream than Jenna Jameson (another Times darling) but for obvious reasons what we hear from Mr. Fishbein is as self-serving as what we hear from Ms. Jameson (who lately hasn't had much good to say about plastic surgery). This isn't meant as a criticism of either Mr. Fishbein or Ms. Jameson, but it's the kind of thing I wish the Times thought to mention now and then.

**ADDENDUM**
Just as I was publishing this I came across another Time's piece and thought it only fair to point out that where they fail in explicit coverage of sex, they often succeed when sex is secondary. Case in point is Randy Kennedy’s piece “Sex, With Consequences” which offers this wonderful description of the current state of sex in our society:

…it can often feel like just another form of the cheap entertainment and distraction that now pushes in from all sides. That impression is fed by proliferating cable channels and the Internet, where the leak of the latest celebrity sex video already seems like a weary ritual, not more much momentous than the latest short-lived reality series.