CHATSWORTH, Calif. – AVN co-founder Paul Fishbein will be honored with the 2016 AVN Visionary Award. Fishbein sold the company in 2010.

“The choice of Paul Fishbein as this year’s visionary was an easy one,” said AVN Media Network Chief Executive Officer Tony Rios. “Paul is someone who understood very early on the importance of the adult film industry and that it was going to be a moving force in the consumer marketplace in those early days of home video. He has continued to deal with adult entertainment in a serious way, and as creator of AVN and all that followed, he has always remained the gold standard.

“He’s not getting this award because he’s family,” Rios added. “He’s getting this because he truly deserves it.”

AVN Visionary Award recipients have attributes in common: ethics, civic responsibility, an eye for quality and innovation, and a compassionate understanding of adult entertainment and its place in mainstream society. Fishbein has been a staunch free-speech defender, always ready to speak up for the industry and the rights of filmmakers and performers when unfairly under attack.

“I am truly humbled and a bit embarrassed about receiving this award,” Fishbein said. “We created AVN and eventually this award, as well, because we felt there was a need for it. I’m not sure I’m a visionary, but I am a supporter of the adult industry. If I helped get the business some respect over the years, then I’m pleased about that.”

After graduating from Temple University, Fishbein and two friends — Irv Slifkin and Barry Rosenblatt — used $900 to create “Adult Video News” in 1983. The eight-page newsletter reviewed the latest X-rated releases. Fishbein realized early on the importance of offering serious, professional coverage and critique of the adult movie trade. As the publication grew, the founders added sales information, insider gossip and behind-the-scenes profiles of industry heavyweights and their businesses.

Slifkin departed in 1984; Rosenblatt in 1987. Fishbein gradually built the newsletter into the glossy magazine AVN, which expanded to become AVN Media Network, a multimedia powerhouse comprising multiple print magazines, online properties, trade shows and awards ceremonies.

With the first AVN Awards ceremony in 1984, Fishbein again showed his forward-thinking about the business of adult filmmaking. Under his direction, the event crossed into the mainstream with its airing on Showtime in the early 2000s. The annual event is one of the hottest tickets in Las Vegas.

After selling AVN Media Network, Fishbein launched Plausible Films, a full-service production company based in southern California. The company produced one of Showtime’s top-rated documentaries X-Rated: The Greatest Adult Movies of All Time and is heading into its second season of the unscripted series Sex with Sunny Megatron. A second documentary, X-Rated 2: The Greatest Adult Stars of All Time, is in production.

Fishbein also serves as executive producer for the scripted television series Submission, written and directed by Jacky St. James. The series is in post-production.

The 2016 AVN Awards will be presented during a gala ceremony to take place Jan. 23 at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Known as “the Oscars of porn,” the annual show recognizes titles, individuals and companies for contributions to and excellence in the industry.