QUICK TAKES

Lopez returns to Miss America

"Extra" host and former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Mario Lopez will again serve as master of ceremonies for the Miss America pageant, to take place Jan. 30 at the Planet Hollywood Resort. Lopez previously hosted the pageant in 2007 and 2009.

Group targets 'Gossip Girl'

On-air promos for a sexual threesome on next Monday's episode of "Gossip Girl" have spurred the Parents Television Council to ask affiliates of the CW network to pre-empt the show. Airing the teen tryst is "reckless and irresponsible," said PTC president Tim Winter in a statement Wednesday. "CW has been defending graphic content on 'Gossip Girl' by asserting that they don't target teenagers," Winters said Wednesday. "Such a claim doesn't even pass the 'laugh test.' " CW spokesman Paul McGuire said the target audience for "Gossip Girl" is 18- to 34-year-old women, with a median viewer age of 27 years old. The network had no comment on PTC's complaint, he said.

Brown 'confused' about image

Chris Brown says he is unsure about how the public perceives him since he attacked Rihanna. In an interview with MTV News, the 20-year-old says he's "confused" about his public image. He says that he thinks his fans "love me and support me." But he acknowledges there are people "that don't want to see me do anything ... they wanna see me kind of, basically in jail." He also says he's trying to get past the scandal and learn from his mistakes. "Chris Brown: The Interview," premieres Friday -- the same day Rihanna's interview airs on "20/20."

Compiled from wire reports