So, how do two people get into the White House when they're not supposed to be there? Balls, mostly.

Virginia couple Michaele and Tareq Salahi are the focus of a Secret Service investigation, looking at the breach of security that allowed the uninvited guests access to Pres. Obama's first state dinner Tuesday night. The Salahis stayed long enough for cocktails and photos -- plenty of photos.

Michaele Salahi had her photo taken with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, ABC News anchor Robin Roberts, Vice President Joe Biden, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and others. The pictures were later posted on the Salahi's Facebook page.

WNBC-TV called Michaele Salahi "an aspiring housewife" for Bravo's upcoming Washington DC version of the show. The NYTimes reports Bravo has been "following and filming the couple" for several weeks. The production company working with Bravo was told by the Salahis that they were invited to the dinner. NBCU owns Bravo.

Another of the tvnewsers at the dinner, Brian Williams, always the reporter, noticed something funny before he even got to the White House. He and his wife Jane were delayed by the Salahis. Williams tells NBC News, "What attracted our attention was, there was at least one camera trailing them, and a make-up woman got out and fixed the woman's hair and started powdering the man's forehead. My wife and I thought that was strange for people who were dressed like state dinner guests."

Williams says he spotted them again, on White House property. "We encountered them during cocktails and I remember saying to my wife 'That's them, that's the couple we saw on the street with the make-up detail and the camera following them.'"

So, we're wondering if this hurts or helps her chances of getting on "Real Housewives?" Either way, their 15 minutes will be stretched a little bit longer: the Salahis will be guests on CNN's "Larry King Live" Monday.

If you didn't get enough of Matt Lauer during this morning's parade, you can catch him tonight in "NBC's People of the Year" special. TVNewser caught up with Lauer -- and his "Today" show co-host Meredith Vieira -- earlier this week.

"These are people we spent some time talking about during the year," he told us. "The focus of the show is 'What happened to them after the headlines?' 'How have their lives changed because of what they went through?'"

Lauer said he enjoyed putting the special together and that looking back on previous stories can often be surreal. "Our lives change so quickly on a daily basis. You have to go, 'Oh my God, I forgot all about that person,' or 'I forgot we covered that.'"

"We don't remember what we did today," Vieira joked.

Vieira said she had a similar opportunity this week when she followed up with Mumbai survivor, baby Moshe. "Those are the stories that resonate with me," she said. "Those people who are just caught in moments of history and going back and seeing where they are."

With the 2000s coming to a close, we asked Lauer: who are the people you'd like to go back and check in on from the last decade?

"Katie," he said, with a smile.

On "Way Too Early," MSNBC's Willie Geist spoke with Carol Miller, Butterball Turkey Talk-line expert, who gave him some tips about how to prep a Thanksgiving turkey.

Since you'll want to look anywhere but at what they're doing with the turkey on set, you'll probably spot Joe and Mika wandering around the studio, disgusted, behind him.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Here's something to chew on: Oprah's BFF, and former local news anchor Gayle King, talks with mediabistro.com's David Hirschman in this week''s So What Do You Do? feature.

When Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King first worked together at a local news broadcast in Baltimore more than 30 years ago, the two bonded instantly. As Winfrey went on to build up a massive media operation around her brand, including a magazine, book club, and now the nascent OWN cable network, King has supported her through it all. But she's more than just the talk show queen's confidante. The self-proclaimed "TV baby" earned old-fashioned broadcasting chops by working her way up as a reporter and anchor through various markets, and for the past decade she has been editor-at-large at O, The Oprah Magazine.

"I never feel in competition with Oprah," says King. "I really don't feel that I'm standing in Oprah's shadow. I always feel that I am standing in Oprah's light. And I am, by far, one of her biggest supporters. So it isn't hard for me. Oprah and I are very similar. We think alike, some people say we talk alike. But I don't think there is anyone who can do what she does."

continued...

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:
FNC	Beck:	Baier:	Shep:	O'Reilly:	Hannity:	Greta:	O'Reilly:
	759	557	514	1092	625	466	465
CNN	Blitzer:	Blitzer:	Tonight:	Brown:	King:	Cooper:	Cooper:
	102	104	113	134	159	111	96
MSNBC	Matthews:	EdShow:	Matthews:	Olbermann:	Maddow:	Olbermann:	Maddow:
	133	146	115	267	141	185	93
HLN	Prime:	Prime:	Issues:	Grace:	Behar:	Grace:	Showbiz:
	93	74	153	218	175	185	171

continued...

Tomorrow night, the 2009 "CNN Heroes" special and celebrity gala will celebrate the work of 10 "heroes," which the network describes as "ordinary people" who make an "extraordinary impact."

TVNewser spoke with Susan Bunda, EVP of content development and strategy for CNN Worldwide, who oversaw "Heroes."

She says the network is very committed to "Heroes" over the long term and is "looking to build a Thanksgiving tradition with it." "By tying it to Thanksgiving we really do feel like it connects it to where people's minds are. Most people will sit down across the united states that evening and be thankful for the different things in their lives. And we feel like this becomes a natural extension to it."

"First and foremost, people rely on us for breaking news events, and we will always be that, but 'Heroes' extends us further," Bunda says, referring to what the special represents for the larger CNN brand. "It is really about being able to tell people's stories and shining a light on how people can make a difference in this world."

Having just returned from the special's taping in Los Angeles, Bunda was more than excited about the attendees she met, "You're in awe when you meet them and their so humble about what they've done and I hope that their experiences with 'CNN Heroes' helps them realize what a big impact they're having."

continued...

Last night, TVNewser headed out Greenwich Village for the release party for Al Roker's new mystery novel, "Morning Show Murders." Matt, Meredith and Ann were there, as were Steve Capus, Jeff Zucker, Hoda Kotb, Natalie Morales, and Willie Geist. Also on hand the show's EP Jim Bell. In "Morning Show Murders," it's the EP who gets the axe -- or rather, the poison -- and a TV host who is the prime suspect.

TVNewser caught up with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira who were all for the murder of their EP.

"We were fully supportive," said Lauer. Vieira agreed. "Absolutely, it was one of those, 'What took so long?' He's been dead to us for years anyway."

Lauer joked, "To be honest, we thought it was ridiculous and we were wondering why he didn't kill Ann."

Roker tells TVNewser he's been an avid fan of the genre since he was a kid reading Hardy Boys novels. "I always thought, someday I'm going to write a mystery. I never actually thought I'd do it, but I kept thinking, someday I'm going to do this."

continued...

It was an emotional send-off for one of the CNBC originals this afternoon. As we first reported earlier this month, "Power Lunch" co-anchor Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC for the next year.

Griffeth got a round of applause from the newsroom and hugs from his co-anchors Sue Herera and Michelle Caruso-Cabrera as he told the audience, "Life is a multi-legged stool and your job is only one of those legs. So, do take the time... have the courage, take the time to do something for yourself. I know I am fortunate to take the whole year off, but even if it's not a whole year, take some time off for yourself."

Whoops. We love a good Post headline, but it looks like, this time around, the editors should have spent less time on the wordplay and more time on the names of the networks they're reporting on. From today's edition:

That would be ABC, not NBC.

Previously: Good Morning America Cancels Adam Lambert Concert

Last night's finale of Dancing with the Stars, at which Donny Osmond took home the bedazzled top prize, gave ABC's "Nightline" a boost. The ABC News broadcast drew 5.09M Total Viewers last night, enough for first place. CBS's "Late Show" drew 4.28M and NBC's "Tonight Show" had 2.55M Total Viewers.

"Nightline" is also leading for the week with a Monday-Tuesday average of 4.90M to Letterman's 4.31M and Conan's 2.46M. (Nightline is measured for the half hour, while Late Show and Tonight are measured for the hour). The ABC News show also leads the week in the A25-54 demo with a 1.56 rating to Letterman's 1.45 and Conan's 1.12.

Former truTV anchor Jami Floyd is filling in on MSNBC today. The NoonET hour, which is normally occupied by Dr. Nancy Snyderman, is preempted for news of the day, anchored by Floyd, a former lawyer who joined CourtTV in 2005. Floyd was an anchor of "In Session" trial programming. truTV shuttered the New York operations of "In Session" earlier this month.

The NY Times reports that former-CNNer Lou Dobbs is not only mulling a future presidential campaign, but is also looking into the New Jersey U.S. Senate seat held by Robert Menendez:

A spokesman played down the idea of a presidential race, but said Mr. Dobbs was taking seriously the idea of running against Mr. Menendez. "I think Lou is realistically saying, that's a long way off, but if he did run for office there'd have to be an intermediary step, such as the Menendez seat," said the spokesman, Robert L. Dilenschneider. He said Mr. Dobbs was impressed by Republican gains in New Jersey in November and by President Obama's sinking popularity.

Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Daily Newsfeed via email with stories like this one.