Playboy's first issue in Indonesia, published this week, has sparked protests around the country, mostly by Muslim groups who fear the U.S.-based magazine will offend and possibly affect the country's longstanding way of life.  Playboy already has 17 international editions and points out that the Indonesia edition, like others that appear in largely Muslim countries, does not feature nude women. Instead, the women are shown in their underwear. The Islalmic Defenders Front, a hardline group, threatened to remove issues from newsstands. "The first edition might be tame, but it will get more vulgar," said group spokesman Tubagus Muhamad Sidik. …

Speaking before an industry group in Las Vegas this week, MTV Networks Music president Van Toffler said his company and others are focused on the mobile phone as the next great opportunity.  “The mobile handset is the holy grail of electronic devices,” he said. While global youth spend $16 billion on music, they spend $106 billion on mobile. Teens rank it more desirable than laptop computers, MP3 players, and video-game consoles. And for mighty MTV, the tiny mobile screens suggest an earlier era, when MTV was new and offered something no one else did.  Reports Ad Age:  "The short-form …

Twentieth Television's fledgling My Network TV will present at the TV upfronts in May, hoping to establish itself as a full-fledged network and generate some early interest among advertisers. According to B&C, its initial 13-week primetime schedule is comprised of two telenovelas, airing six nights per week beginning in September. Both will feature a 65-episode story arc, with each episode 60 minutes in length. It was recently announced that actress Bo Derek will join the cast in the lead role as a fashion mogul in the telenovela titled "Secret Obsessions."

Readying for the coming age of broadband video, set to explode in the next few years, cable executives this week gathered to set their competitive strategy. Cathy Hetzel, senior vice president at measurement firm Rentrak, told the Innovations in Digital Advertising (IDIA) group that while there are still many technical problems to be surmounted when it comes to advertising in a video-on-demand cable environment, there are more metrics available for advertising in VOD than there are for broadband video. “What you get in [online] broadband is clicks. You can't get data on what is viewed, for what duration or …

Many parents who for years have been purchasing educational videos for their babies are taken aback by the latest research that indicates there's no value in these products. According to Liz Stevens of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 2 watch no TV. "Not even the stuff that has been developed specifically for them. That means no Baby Bach. No Smart Baby. No Baby Genius." Stevens explains that "Not only is there no evidence that these products make babies smarter, a recent report concludes, there's also reason to believe that, …

Yesterday's "Around the Net in Media" provided an incorrect title for the free newspaper that has just debuted in Baltimore. Its name is the Baltimore Examiner, not the Baltimore Express.

Using the launch yesterday of the Baltimore Express as a point of departure, the Wall Street Journal asks a troubling (for the newspaper business) question:  Can free newspapers eventually destroy paid newspapers in the U.S.?  The Baltimore Express, which is a fully staffed daily, complete with its own photo desk, is but the latest in a series of big-town freebie papers that have sprouted in the last couple of years.  Not all are doing equally well, and a couple have fizzled.  But overall, they present a new--and unwelcome--level of competition to the industry.  They are especially robust in areas …

The thoroughgoing redesign of the New York Times' Web site, unveiled less than a week ago, is drawing mostly praise from users and industry observers. Some have noted that NYTimes.com now actually looks a bit more like... a newspaper. Others have singled out its superior organization, its above- and below-the-fold sensibility, and its new emphasis on multimedia components. Writer Jack Shafer, who is employed by the Washington Post Company, is so impressed by the revised site that he wrote a piece for Slate.com announcing his intention to cancel his paid subscription to The Times. "Seeing as I already read …

Newspapers eager to remind advertisers of their value are taking a look at a cool feature that transforms their Web sites into more effective, powerful sales tools.  DMNews.com explains that one such paper is The Palm Beach Post, which reaches 700,000 readers a week. PalmBeachPost.com recently, albeit quietly, introduced the Talk to Seller feature which allows users to click on an icon attached to an ad in order to be immediately connected to the seller. On the other end of the Internet connection, the seller sees a pop-up notation that reads, "Another lead from The Palm Beach Post."  There …

So, now it's official: Katie Couric is leaving "Today" to join CBS News. And the world will not end. Nor will NBC's morning juggernaut. Everyone will still make plenty of money, CBS will gain a short-term burst of publicity, and viewers will not change their habits overnight. So says Paul La Monica, who covers media for CNNMoney.com. Citing a number of industry observers, and coupling their thoughts with his own observations, he points out that all the hoopla about Katie Couric's departure from NBC has been way, way overblown. Big media loves stories such as this one, he notes, but …