• The deal between Comcast and GE to hand over control of NBC Universal to the cable giant is done; an announcement may come Thursday. [CNBC]
• Job cuts hit Gannett today; USA Today is reducing its staff by 5 percent. [AP]
• So much for Lou Dobbs moving over to CNBC. The cable network now says it has no plans to hire the ex-CNN anchor/possible political candidate. [NYT]
• Will Bravo get into trouble if it goes ahead and casts White House state dinner crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi on The Real Housewives of DC? Did the Today land an interview with the couple because of their pending deal with sister network Bravo? So many questions, so few answers. [NYDN, Gawker]

• Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced today. [Reuters]
• ABC has signed up Nicole Richie to star in a primetime sitcom. [Variety]
• Poor Roseanne Barr is finding that no television network is all that interested in hiring her to star in (another) show. There's always radio, though! [LAT]
• Because Americans cannot get enough of the horribly addicted and terribly pathetic, A&E has another hit on its hands with the show Hoaders. [Wrap]
• Did the Harlem Gospel Choir cancel a performance with Glenn Beck because of financial issues or because he's a total racist? You decide! [NYDN]
• "Michael Jackson" was the most searched-for term on the Web in '08. [THR]
• A labor dispute threatens to keep NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center telecast off the airwaves this year. Cue the outrage! [HP]