After Iran blocked access to YouTube and other U.S.-based sites on Tuesday, a press-rights group came out with a warning that Internet censorship in the Islamic state is on the rise. Web users who visited the popular online video site were greeted with the following message: "On the basis of the Islamic Republic of Iran laws, access to this website is not authorized." This is the same message that appears when users try to access pornographic Web sites blocked by the government. The Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders, the same group that protests China's censorship of the Web, …

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia CEO Susan Lyne says the company is poised to overhaul its Web strategy, changing it from an e-commerce model to content supported by advertising. Lyne said the company would shift focus away from its online catalog business, which to date has accounted for most of MSLO's online revenue. In conjunction with the strategy shift, the media conglomerate also plans to unveil a new Web site and an improved search engine with info covering everything from dining etiquette to dessert recipes. The Web site is also launching a video series featuring "great chefs" from around the …

The battle between Universal Music and MySpace could prove crucial in determining the future relationship between traditional media companies and the Web sites that depend on them for content. The lawsuit filed by Universal follows similar claims made by the recording company against two other user-generated sites: Bolt.com and Grouper.com. But the MySpace lawsuit figures to be more pivotal because it brings together two media giants with high-powered legal teams. This battle, however, will be fought on uncertain grounds, with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act taking center stage. News Corp. claims that the DMCA protects MySpace …

In a move that's long overdue, MySpace is taking action against the sex offenders that use its site. In response to widespread criticism, News Corp., the site's owner, says that within 30 days it will deploy a new technology that will identify sex offenders by their name, date of birth, height, weight and ZIP code. The automated system searches for a potential match between MySpace's user base and a list of 550,000 state-registered perpetrators, then MySpace employees try to verify the matches and weed out false positives. Once offenders are found, MySpace will block them from the site …

Sooner or later, we'll start to see an exodus of smart people from Google, which could signal the beginning of the end of Google's Web dominance. Eventually, everyone in that room wants to be top dog, and becomes bored with a limiting corporate structure. John Kraus, a new Google hire following the absorption of his company JotSpot by the search giant, marvels at how smart the Google is. But brilliant minds boxed into a big company inevitably grow dissatisfied with their inability to shine individually. Think of Google's roster as the corporate equivalent of the U.S. Olympic basketball …

Comedy, a big money maker for Viacom Corp. offline, is now set to become the cornerstone of the media giant's online strategy. Its new video properties, Atom Films and iFilm, have now been brought under the wing of Doug Herzog, the former president of Comedy Central/Spike/TV Land. Atom is set to become an incubator for MTV Networks, which includes Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike TV and other comedy-oriented channels. iFilm has remerged as a video portal of sorts for content professionally produced by MTV Networks. Viacom says both sites are already making money through advertising. …

NBC Universal is hyping its Web properties, particularly iVillage, claiming that its digital assets will amount to between $300 million and $400 million this year, and $1 billion by 2009. That's according to NBC Television Group CEO Jeff Zucker, who spoke at the annual Credit Suisse Media and Telecom Week. iVillage, a content destination for women, is expected to account for about one-third of this year's revenue, but Zucker said traffic to its other properties, like NBC.com, CNBC.com and MSNBC.com, is "significant" and improving. "We are collapsing windows in TV," the TV Group chief said, adding that international expansion …

For News Corp., success in China for MySpace will have a lot less to do with the fact that the Chinese government censors content than the reality that the social network doesn't come from there. None of the major U.S. Internet companies dominate their respective sectors in the Chinese market. Even after Google officially set up shop in the country, censoring its content at the behest of Beijing, Baidu.com lengthened its lead as China's top search engine. Moreover, online advertising isn't the big business in China that it's become in the U.S. and the EU. The investment …

The ad forecast season is well underway. Yesterday, a flood of forecasts came across our desks from industry analysts and research and consulting firms. Their numbers and prognostications vary, but all point to one glaring fact: 2007 should be a poor year for traditional media. We don't worry about that here, because the online forecast continues to be rosy. Indeed, in a big way, the Internet will help carry the ad industry's overall growth next year to be between 2% and 5%, according to an average compiled by the New York Times. While this is a lower number …

The monthly subscription business model that was once the sole territory of print has been reborn on the Web. Greg Shugar, a lawyer, hated tie-shopping, so in 2004 he started a Web site called the Tie Bar, which evolved into a Tie-of-the-Month Club service. For $200 per year, customers who sign up at www.thetiebar.com receive a silk tie each month. The service now has more than 150 subscribers, more than a dozen of which are in their second year. The company designs the ties and manufactures them in China. For small businesses, monthly services are a great way …