Journalistic Champs and Pornographic Chums: Hefner's and Flynt's Obituaries and the Boundaries of Journalism

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Publisher

University of Nebraska Press

Source Publication

Journal of Magazine Media

Source ISSN

2576-7887

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1353/jmm.2023.a934629

Abstract

This article examines journalism's relationship with pornographic publications. This article focuses on Hugh Hefner, Larry Flynt, and their empires. I examine the discourse about the two by analyzing fifty-nine obituaries (thirty-nine for Hefner and twenty for Flynt). I argue the two represent the complicated boundary between the institution of journalism and the industry of pornography. Hefner and Playboy are considered journalistic and celebrated for innovative approaches to photography and historically significant reporting and writing. The recognition of the two situates them as a necessary social capital, despite the criticism of the depictions of women in the magazine's pages. Flynt, despite his identification as a First Amendment champion, is yoked to his social deviance. Hustler's explicit and graphic content is not celebrated; instead, it is negated. Therefore, Flynt and his publication are positioned outside of journalism's boundaries. Ultimately, the legacies of the two as pornography giants are remembered differently: one as a complicated member of the journalism community and the other as the man who stuck a woman in a meat grinder.

Comments

Journal of Magazine Media, Vol. 24, No. 1-2 (2023-2024): 60-82. DOI.

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