Billing itself as "the program with nothing to hide", the only really surprising thing about nakednews.com is that the first-mover advantage fell to a Canadian rather than American company.
Victoria Sinclair, Holly Weston and Carmen Russo are the bosom buddies that keep almost six million viewers up to date with all the news that matters. Though how many of the regulars actually notice the news content is another story.
The site was developed by Fernando Pereira and Kirby Stasyna. Their story is that they were watching the news together one night and suddenly wondered what it would be like if the newsreaders were naked.
They don't admit to it, but it's likely that they were very aware of the Russian M-1 TV strip-and-tell news show The Naked Truth, which began broadcasting in early 1999. The Toronto-based Naked News went live in December 1999 after hiring producer Elliot Shulman. Their first news anchor was his girlfriend Sinclair.
Naked News's spokeswoman, Kathy Pinckert, says she's never seen the Russian show and insists that "if you really think about it, we've got the same basic news format that everybody uses, whether you're talking about CNN or ABC. It's not about the news itself, really - it's about how we're presenting the news".
Less believable is her dubious defence of the site's content under the guise of press freedom. "The Internet is the last bastion of free press and uncensored communication," she says.
Pinckert may have a point, however, in saying that popular US TV shows such as Sex and the City and The Sopranos, both of which have had nude scenes, has created a "more receptive market at this point". She says that Naked News has attracted viewers who were alienated or bored by traditional, formulaic news broadcasts, among other reasons. Mostly other reasons, one supposes.
The basic site is free, with users only having to leave an e-mail address to gain access. If you want to see the presenters in all their full-screen, ad-free glory, there is a subscription package that costs $9.95 a month. Advertising is where Naked News makes most of its money though.
While it apparently has not yet made a profit - they have not released figures for their first full year of trading - the user base, demographics and sheer number of ads - from gambling, sports and other "adult" sites - make it likely that they will survive the dotbomb clear-out.
"We represent a fairly significant audience of young men in the 18-to-35 age range, and that's a very powerful purchaser," says Pinckert.
Bizarre though the idea is, they really are presenting news that is similar to that carried in a lot of more traditional news media.
Sinclair is the main presenter, serious and fully clothed at first. "A man was shot in the West Bank . . ." She unbuttons her jacket, face still serious. "Global warming may be worse than we imagined . . ." She takes off her skirt, still serious. Four minutes, a few more stories, much deft movement of her hands and she is bare.
Unbelievably, her expression is still stone serious.
According to her biography on the site, Sinclair "is a risk taker and a champion of personal liberty and freedom of expression". She regards Naked News as the "perfect forum to provide information about news events, delivered in a voice that is less restrained and less inhibited than standard news programmes".
Nudity, happily, presents no issues to 35-year-old Sinclair. She's not a bit bothered by the fact that strangers she meets may have seen her naked, saying she often looks at people and wonders what they'd look like with nothing on. A bit of a bohemian free-spirit, her influences include Oscar Wilde and reclusive singer/songwriter Scott Walker.
Thirty-year-old Weston is the perky sports and entertainment reporter, happy to take her kit off as she tells us how the Toronto Blue Jays did last night. Unsurprisingly, her bio tells us that she is a "people person", views the body as a temple and is "quite relaxed about working in the nude".
But she is protective of her journalistic integrity. Naysayers are invited to "walk away from the computer so that you can't see us and keep the sound on. You'll realise that we do our jobs in a serious manner. Being nude is just a hook". She is off-air at the moment, though, having given birth to her daughter, Scout Hayley, on May 12th. The baby's names, incidentally, were chosen from suggestions made by her many fans.
She worked on the show until her due date and expects to be back at work after a brief maternity leave. Now that's dedication to the job.
RUSSO is on the business desk. A former actress and model, the bio describes her as an "exotic beauty" of "French Canadian and Algonquin Indian descent". Apparently, the opportunity to "tell it like it is" was a powerful incentive for the 42-year-old to change careers and join the Naked News team last September.
Lest you think that her actress/model background ill-suits her for the tough world of broadcast journalism, you should know that she "honed her sharp business sense and stock market savvy" while working as a merchandising consultant for a multi-national corporation.
Those visiting the site for less honourable reasons than finding out what is happening in the world will be happy to know than she sees the opportunity to work in the nude as "a freedom of expression, and a way to express beauty in all its forms". Paying no mind to those that would disparage her current career choice, Russo draws strength from an inspirational quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do". Very zen.
All three presenters, along with a now-departed weather girl colleague, appeared in the June issue of Playboy. For Russo, who has a 13-year-old daughter, it was nothing new. Fifteen years ago she graced the same magazine's "Girls of Summer" edition.
Indeed, there are a lot of parallels between the seasoned men's magazine and Naked News.
According to Suanne Kelman, director of broadcasting at the school of journalism in Toronto's Ryerson University: "The reason these people are doing news is the same reason that Playboy magazine has always had pretty good articles. It gives people an excuse - 'But honey, I just watch it for the headlines'." It's not just about women either. There is now an additional service - Program II - which features nude male news readers. "Our female viewers clamored for a male segment," says Pinckert.
Lucas Tyler, 33, was the pioneering male news stripper. "I'm proud to be the first man selected to be part of Naked News and its ground-breaking format," he says, towing the party line. According to Pinckert, he was chosen from over 200 applicants because "he exudes just the right balance of poise, intelligence and style that make for an outstanding webcaster".
Being careful to never overestimate the public's good taste, Naked News may soon become that rare beast - a dotcom that turns a profit.
Visit Naked News at www.nakednews.com
pcollins@irish-times.com