A porn star has no place in a family newspaper, much less in a section that carries the comics and other material for children. That was the unanimous conclusion of a number of readers who called Friday to protest the Life & Arts cover story about porn star Ron Jeremy.
“We don’t need to stoop to this, do we?” one father asked. “We don’t need to feature him like he’s the guy next door like the guy in San Diego who’s got child pornography in his home.”
He was referring to David Westerfield, 50, who has been charged with killing his neighbor, 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.
The Star-Telegram article, written by Features Editor Rick Press and headlined “Gutter talk,” was an installment of an occasional series, “Bowling with,” in which quirky celebrities are interviewed while bowling with staff writers.
Jeremy’s life is examined in a documentary playing at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas, which has raised his profile as a newsmaker and made him a timely subject, said Julie Heaberlin, senior editor for features.
“It’s a haunting story that doesn’t glorify the porn industry but reveals what a sad life it is,” she said.
But Jeremy was not an appropriate subject, said one mother, who was among the dozens who called.
“My children read that section routinely,” she said. “To have a porn star in a story with blatant sexual innuendo all over it is horrifying, and it’s right below a picture of Scooby-Doo.”
She was referring to a promotional item above the Jeremy article. executives expressed concern for readers.
“Rick Press did a fine job on the story about Ron Jeremy,” said President/Publisher Wesley R. Turner. “But I’m just not sure that it is appropriate material for a family newspaper. Most of all, it is not appropriate for the Life section, which includes our comics and a lot of younger readers.”
Said Senior Vice President/Executive Editor Jim Witt: “Editors sometimes have to make difficult decisions concerning content that might be offensive to some readers, and I certainly apologize to those whom we offended with the story about Ron Jeremy.
“Many newspapers around the country had already run stories about this particular documentary, so perhaps I wasn’t being as critical as I should have been when deciding whether to run this story in the Star-Telegram. I understand how parents might be upset that it ran in a section that attracts children.
“The reaction we’ve had has certainly given us good feedback to use in the future when making decisions about material like this.”
Life & Arts content frequently carries adult themes, Heaberlin said, challenging editors’ sense of taste.
“We tried to be sensitive with the Jeremy story. It’s actually a legitimate story.” she said. “He’s a sad person who has these faded dreams about getting into the mainstream movie industry.”
But that was all on Page 7E, and not many readers got that far into the story. They only read what was on Page 1E – 17 lines that included references to Jeremy’s anatomy, the scope of his porn work and the 4,000 women with whom he has appeared in movies.
Press’ story seemed headed straight into the depths of depravity when in fact it was moving toward a view of a character much like Heaberlin described – a self-deprecating, tormented soul with little love in his life to help him along.
Had it been written like that at the top, perhaps Jeremy and Life & Arts would have shown a moving slice of human existence in the spirit of a character such as the vampire in Nosferatu – a demonized but suffering figure.
Too much sex got in the way.
Which could be the headline for our entire culture.
