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Only on TVNewser: MSNBC is close to signing a deal with CNN's Tucker Carlson, paving the way for the conservative Crossfire co-host to fill the 9:00pm primetime position soon to be vacated by Deborah Norville.

MSNBC staffers have been buzzing about the possibility in recent days, three sources told TVNewser. One insider speculated that Carlson's program would attract new viewers to the network, but more importantly, "it shows that MSNBC is a priority and folks are trying their darndest to make it work."

Carlson feels that CNN hasn't treated him well, a source said. MSNBC executives, on the other hand, are thrilled by the guy in the bow tie.

In mid-November, the Washington Post reported that Carlson's CNN contract would run out on Dec. 1, and that "he has been negotiating elsewhere." When the paper asked Carlson about it, he dodged the question: "I don't know. I like living here." It sounds like he'll be hosting the show from North Capitol Street.

Carlson has been talking to MSNBC executives about the opportunity for several weeks. Friday's announcement of Norville's mid-January sign-off suggests MSNBC executives are confident about moving forward with Carlson's show.

The courting of Carlson is MSNBC president Rick Kaplan's first opportunity to create a new primetime show on MSNBC. "It's going to surprise a lot of Kaplan's critics," a source said recently, because conservatives have criticized Kaplan for being liberal (due in part to his relationship with former President Bill Clinton).

Kaplan's term as president of CNN ended in 2000, when Carlson was a "CNN political analyst." Carlson was hired full-time to co-anchor "The Spin Room" with Bill Press a few months after Kaplan was forced out by AOL Time Warner.

In addition to Crossfire, Carlson writes for Esquire and hosts the PBS political show "Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered." He has hard news credentials: He has written for dozens of magazines and newspapers.

There is no word yet on who would replace Carlson on Crossfire. If the deal is reached and the program goes forward, Carlson may be on the air by the end of January: Deborah Norville's show is expected to end in the middle of the month, and launching Carlson's program around the inauguration would work well.

> Oct. 15: Tucker Carlson and Jon Stewart duel on live TV

> Oct. 7: Carlson, Begala go crowd-surfing at debate

J. Max Robins (subreq) adds Katie Couric's name to the hat of possible Dan Rather replacements: Leslie Moonves may name an interim placeholder "until he can land a superstar to take over. If that's the tack he takes, what I hear is that the big name he's most likely to court is Katie Couric, arguably the most incandescent of all the stars in the news constellation." He explains that "swiping the Today co-host would be a move right out of his playbook." More...

In an interview with Deborah Norville Thursday night, Katie Couric didn't say no to the evening news job, but she definitely didn't say yes.

NORVILLE: Would you want that kind of responsibility/pressure? COURIC: I have a lot of pressure already in my current job. (CROSSTALK) COURIC: You know, I think one of my skills is the way I interact with people. And I think that I would miss in that job to opportunity to do that, to talk to people, to show my personality a little bit, whether it's in difficult situations and hard interviews or health advocacy work or more fun. NORVILLE: It would be more of a straitjacket. COURIC: Yes. I think maybe the format needs tinkering with, because it is a bit sort of...

Here's the full transcript; this excerpt is 3/4 down the page.

TV Week's Alex Ben Block calls Fox News a "friendly harbor" for viewers who "want news that reinforces their own belief systems," and adds: "It is hard to overstate the immensity of this change, or the implications it has for our future." He has apparently been watching a lot of FNC lately: "You have to pay attention to understand stories they do, like the current obsession with anything perceived as anti-Christmas (such as a ban on public displays of Christian celebration), to understand there is always an agenda." Here's his column...

The best lead I've read in a long time comes from John Cook in the Chicago Tribune today:

Quick: What major television news organization spent much of 2004 under a cloud, beset by bloggers and angry critics scrutinizing its every report for signs of political partisanship, while a string of embarrassing scandals -- including a career-threatening firestorm surrounding its most high-profile anchor -- eroded its credibility? If you said CBS News, well, you're right. But if you said Fox News Channel, you'd be right too. And the fact that, despite some similar ups and downs, CBS is coming off one of the worst years in its history while Fox is celebrating what is without a doubt its best yet, is a clear indicator of the massive forces that continued to shake the TV news business last year.

Cook's conslusion on what made the difference: Viewer loyalty. "Rather had viewers, Fox has fans," he writes...

CNN staffers disagreed with this e-mailer's assertion that "no one watches" CNN En Espanol, and it "has absolutely no impact in that part of the world." "CNN en Español has enjoyed a very successful year in 2004, highlighted by the highest household distribution in its history," a CNN rep said in an e-mail. "The network skews to an upscale, educated audience, but still reaches approximately 75% of the total pay television universe in Latin America."

A study by IPSOS Latin America found that CNN en Español and CNN International are the "top two pan-regional news channels for professional and executives in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico." A TGI Latina survey founded that CNN en Español is the "undisputed leader among pan-regional news networks," out of nearly 200 other local and pan-regional cable networks. So people are watching, after all...

Chris Cramer, the director of CNN International, says the school siege at Beslan was the "media moment of the year." "It took TV news and the viewer into a new and frightening reality," he tells the U.K. Independent. "No longer do terrorists just check their bombs and guns before they attack. They now review the media plan, check the camera equipment and their cell phones. It was a sickening and tragic event for those involved and a sobering moment for the media."