We were so excited by the new Glee promo that's going to be on Entertainment Tonight! We love this show so, so much that we don't want it to ever get bad. Don't worry, Glee, we're here to help!

Family Guy is known for "going there" with controversial issues, but tonight's episode—in which a character with Down's syndrome said her mother is "the former governor of Alaska"—WENT THERE, and Sarah Palin will not be happy.

The SNL vet has signed on to play a boozy, pill-popping badminton coach who is Sue MF Sylvester's nemesis. Just when we started to doubt we'd survive the winter, Glee gives us another reason to make it until April.

It's finally Hollywood week! No more dancing midget ninja mimes that warble out notes in a desperate grab for fame. Now it's actually a talent competition instead of a circus sideshow. And some stood out more than others. And Ellen!

Howard Stern addressed rumors today about Fox's interest in Stern hosting American Idol. He discussed why he would be the only logical pick in order for the show to remain successful after Simon Cowell leaves. Audio inside.

Today on Studio B, America's Best Newsman Shepard Smith covered the Washington DC snow emergency with his usual zeal: "I believe that 34 predicted inches requires a bear alert."

Snooki accepted $10,000 to make an appearance at a wing-eating competition in Philadelphia. Philadelphians in the crowd, known for their class and gentle demeanor, booed her heartily. Snooki responded by flipping-off the camera on live TV.

Here is Chris "much dumber son of Mike" Wallace on the Don Imus show hoping that Sarah Palin sits in his lap this Sunday. You know what? People who want to be taken seriously should really stop doing Imus!

Tonight marked the end of the audition phase on American Idol, and—in some respects—they saved the best for last. Case in point: Adrian, a 17-year-old, six-foot-eight, self-described "beautiful man flower," who sings like the woman he resembles.

• CBS News laid off more than 150 staffers this week. Will Katie Couric be forced to take a pay cut when her contract expires next year? Some say yes; CBS News chief Sean McManus is denying the report. [NYP, Politico]
• Avatar has dominated the box office for seven straight weeks now (and has officially bested Titanic), but that may change this weekend or next. [LAT]
• Janice Kaplan is out as editor-in-chief of Parade magazine. [NYT]
• Nikki Finke says it will take "minutes" for Comcast to dump NBC CEO Jeff Zucker after its acquisition of NBC is approved by regulators. (Meantime, maybe he could explain why the Today show is propping up Scientology?)
• An estimated 12 million people tuned in to Lost last night. [Forbes]
• Time Warner reported fourth-quarter revenues and profits were up. [AP]
• Fox and ESPN will challenge NBC for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics. [BN]
• Does Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter hate non-white women? [DF]

Before the announcement that Ellen DeGeneres would replace Paula Abdul on American Idol's judging panel, Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice) was rumored to be a candidate. Thankfully, she wasn't chosen, because—as a guest judge tonight—she was horrible.

Last year The Simpsons managed to jump even farther over the shark by holding a contest to create a new Simpsons character. Well that character—Ricardo Bomba—debuted last night. And what the writers did with him was actually funny!

Even though the throngs of hopefuls were already there, tonight's American Idol still featured many "I'm going to Hollywood!" exclamations. And if the episode had a theme, it was this: LA brings the crazies. Oh, and Crying Girl? She's baaaack!

Judy Miller: whatever happened to her? Apparently she is summarizing the final report of a "bipartisan commission," for FoxNews.com. Obama got an "F" in saving us from hypothetical aluminum tubes or something. (Ahmed Chalabi, you may be interested to know, is a bigwig in Iraqi government, and still has his friends in high places.)

Another day, another piece of news about broadcast television's slow, painful death rattle. It's no longer just primetime that's hemorrhaging: the big old networks are fighting battles in daytime, in news, and royally fucking up their once-sturdy late night empires.

Shepard Smith, America's best newsman, had one of the finest broadcasts of storied career today on Studio B. There was a puppy, stuck in the LA river. It was rescued by a helicopter. Shepard Smith talked America through it.

Old Hollywood hottie could meet New Hollywood hottie in an upcoming film. What will happen? Will they generate so much heat that the Earth's atmosphere catches on fire? Rounding out a week of late-night news, it's a hottie-filled Trade Roundup!

Dr. Oz reached new bodily lows on his show today, when he addressed an audience member's obsession with cleaning her colon by describing the lower intestine in gestures and cuing up comparative pictures of clean and dirty colons in HD.

The only people who make it through the Idol screening process are freaks, people with borderline talent, and people with actual talent. This year Simon seems to be saying yes to the first two at an alarming rate.

• As rumored, the New York Times plans to begin charging readers to access stories on the NYT website. It will be a metered system (so only "frequent readers" will be affected), and it doesn't start until 2011. And faithful subscribers to the print edition won't be forced to pay anything extra. [NYT]
• What are the chances Conan lands at Fox? It could happen, but there are plenty of reasons why Fox might decide to back away from a deal. [WSJ]
• The news biz: Talks to bring Ted Koppel back to ABC News appear to have fallen through; Megyn Kelly is getting her own show on Fox News; and CNN has announced it's partnering with hipster mag Vice, oddly enough. [NYO]
• Condé Nast's Fairchild unit has a new chief. Gina Sanders, Lucky's publisher (and Si Newhouse's niece) will now be running the show. [WWD]
• The Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City, Utah tomorrow. And it's shaping up to be fest's "most important" year ever, supposedly. [NYT, WSJ]