It's that time of year again, when members of the Free Speech Coalition vote on the new board of directors. Pretty mundane stuff, to be honest, but as a member of the FSC and industry participant that sees the need for such an organization, as well as taking comfort in the protections afforded the members vis-a-vis 2257 litigation, upon receiving Diane Duke's email regarding the elections, I clicked over to the candidates bios and statements to review the choices.

Even in an industry that does its best to eat its young, I was shocked to see Gill Sperlein, Titan Media's in-house counsel, running for the Board. And then I was insulted by his answer to the FSC's first question, specifically, "What is the biggest challenge facing the adult industry today?"

I believe lack of unity is the greatest threat to the industry because it affects our ability to effectively confront the other problems we face. However, it's not surprising the industry is defragmented since it is comprised almost entirely of small businesses. We should not look to blame our members for their rebel spirit. Rather, we should acknowledge and celebrate the individuality of our members so we can move beyond the differences and focus on common threats: government intrusion, social bias, copyright infringement, the economic crises, etc.

To be succinct, what a crock of shit.

Channel 1 exclusive Cole Ryder is dead. We don't know why, and that's not the reason I write this. I went back to read the comments on gaypornblog to see what had been added in the last week, and was stunned to read the final comment from Bernie:

People are unnerved by gay porn stars sadly short lifespans!

Indeed.

I don't know whether to pity or laugh at Harker Jones. While everybody knew that GayVN couldn't make it as a standalone publication, it wasn't for lack of potential advertisers and content. It was because Paul Fishbein doesn't understand the gay marketplace and let Jeremy Spencer and his cronies (specifically Chi Chi Larry) set both the editorial and advertiser policies -- positioning the magazine as pro-condom.

Which means that it was cut off from the growing portion of the business. The portion that is still selling good numbers and making money. The portion that has the need and the resources to advertise.