The NYTimes’ Jacques Steinberg tries to get to the bottom of who will be the permanent moderator of Meet the Press, once Tom Brokaw is ready to move on. Steinberg doesn’t get very far. There are the usual suspects: Chuck Todd, David Gregory, Gwen Ifill, Andrea Mitchell, and Chris Matthews. Then there’s this:

Some NBC executives are intrigued by the possibility of hiring an established star to replace Mr. Russert. Near the top of that short list is [Katie] Couric, the former ‘Today’ co-host, who has had at times an unhappy experience as anchor of the ‘CBS Evening News.’

NBC News spokeswoman Allison Gollust shoots it all down: “No decision has been made about the future of ‘Meet the Press,’ and any speculation by alleged insiders is nothing more than idle chitchat,” says Gollust.

• Earlier The mediabistro.com interview with Luke Russert…