Playboy Enterprises is feeling the pinch of a tough print advertising market with the company posting a fourth-quarter loss on falling ad revenue at its publishing arm and a drop-off in domestic television sales. And the pain isn't over yet: Playboy said it sees continuing declines in advertising at its flagship magazine this quarter, due to industrywide malaise and a rate base cut that will drag down prices. On the plus side, the Chicago-based adult entertainment company is recording double-digit growth for its international TV and licensing units. Chief Executive Christie Hefner says the company will invest more …

With the conclusion of the writers strike, CBS says that original episodes of its scripted comedies and dramas will soon return to its broadcast schedule. The Tiffany Network says three of its Monday night comedies may be back as early as St. Patrick's Day, including episodes of "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory" and "Two and Half Men." Drama "CSI: Miami" will return the following week with eight original episodes and "Cold Case" hits prime time again on March 30. Then, in April, the network hopes to return almost all of its other dramas to …

The Los Angeles Times, now under the ownership of Sam Zell, has rolled out a new stand-alone print weekly. And in an unusual against-the tide twist, the culture and nightlife focused free paper was spun from a Times Web site that launched last summer. The tabloid and the Web site are both called Metromix Los Angeles and are a push by the venerable broadsheet to reach young adults who rarely buy the morning newspaper. The site at losangeles.metromix.com helped build the brand and has been kind of a continuous test issue for the print offering. The print edition of …

Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin is back on the congressional griddle, defending his ideas about cable regulation policies to skeptical lawmakers, including Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat who presented him a list of what she thinks are his anti-cable efforts. Eshoo says she doesn't know what the industry did to upset Martin, but he needs to explain it. The Congresswoman is troubled over various Martin stances, including his push for "a la carte" programming; eradication of exclusive contracts between cable companies and multi-unit dwellings; and cuts in the leased-access rates cable operators can charge. Martin …

Publicis USA and media agency Optimedia have rolled out "Optimedia Inside," a joint venture aimed at providing clients with "media-neutral strategic solutions" for marketing plans -- and to make sure media is involved earlier in the development process. The idea behind the unit is to easily allow Publicis clients access =- at a cost -- to planning tools and insights developed by Optimedia. Publicis has lately expanded its own strategic planning offering but focused more on how consumers perceive brands and brand messages while Optimedia looks at changing relationships to, and use of, media. Paul Hindle, managing partner …

In a newsroom replete with leather couches, throw pillows, track lighting and a plasma flat screen, LuxLife magazine's offices in Sacramento, Calif. are a world away from the typical journalism office. But then it ain't a standard mass-market publication either: This book aims to that small but ever-so-desirable audience of the really, really rich. The bimonthly goes out via direct mail to the elite in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties. And if you don't have a home valued at more than $1 million, or net worth more than $1.5 million, you won't be getting it. Less than 40,000 …

Tribune Co. has gotten into yet another spat with Windy City rival Sun-Times Group after the former ordered its WGN-AM radio to re-record the voiceover of a Sun-Times commercial that highlighted the latter's supposed readership edge over the Tribune in Chicago proper. Adding insult to injury, the 30-second spot was voiced by Dean Richards, a TV and radio personality with a voice easily recognized by WGN listeners. Also, the Tribune's ad sales department rejected a print ad from the Sun-Times that made the same claims, based on Scarborough Research data that compared readership of the Sun-Times and the Tribune for …

Even as traditional print media continues to suffer, at least one pair of mags covering the celebrity set can boast of circulation gains, largely thanks to the recent travails of some of their favorite subjects. Sales of US Weekly and new competitor, OK! Weekly surged in the second half of last year, even as price increases contributed to a general drop in overall sales of celebrity magazines, according to one report. Semiannual data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations show overall magazine circulation changing little but US Weekly gaining 10% to more than 1.9 million while perennial …