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The Morning Fix: Dobbs departs. Ross names regime. Comcast’s consigliere. AFM’s A-list.

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After the coffee. Before guessing how far ‘A Christmas Carol’ will drop this weekend.

Dobbs departs. It was one of those ‘shocked but not surprised’ moments last night when Lou Dobbs announced on his CNN show that he was leaving the news network after almost 30 years. Dobbs’ clashes with management there over his take on a variety of issues including immigration and politics were no secret as his show morphed from business to populist. Question is, will he now run for office or go to Fox? His remarks were vague enough for both. Coverage from the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. In the meantime, looks like John King will get the Dobbs 7 p.m. slot, at least for now.

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Ross the boss. New Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross is starting to make his mark as he put his much of his (or it is Disney CEO Bob Iger’s?) new team in place. Now Disney needs to figure out who will market these movies and how to replace Ross at Disney Channel Worldwide. Details on Ross’ regime from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Variety and the Wrap.

The alternative-universe A-list. The Hollywood Reporter’s Steven Zeitchik roams the halls of AFM to find its A-list of stars, which reads like an ‘80s casting call. The big shots here are Lou Diamond Phillips, Eric Roberts and Rob Schneider.

Comcast’s Mr. Inside. Philadelphia Magazine takes a look at the most important industry executive you’ve never heard of, Comcast’s David L. Cohen. He is the company’s consigliere, with clout in D.C. and the industry and the ear of bosses Brian Roberts and Steve Burke. You can bet he’s playing a big role in the Comcast-NBC Universal talks. He reminds us old-timers of Jay Kriegel, who had a similar role at CBS back in the Larry Tisch days.

Don’t panic over Oprah yet. Advertising Age looks at the mess that is the Oprah Winfrey Network and reminds us that its growing pains seem very similar to those associated with Winfrey’s magazine, and yet that turned out OK.

No girls allowed. More women watch late-night TV than men (actually, more women watch TV than men, period) but few women are on the writing staffs of the current crop of late-night shows, and none are on Letterman, Leno or Conan O’Brien. David Letterman’s recent mess leads the New York Times to look at the demographics of the late-night joke writers.

Where am I on this list? They’ve done the richest, now Forbes weighs in on the most powerful people in the world. Yes, Rupert Murdoch is on the list.

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Inside the Los Angeles Times: Al Gore’s Current TV cuts back and revamps. A mixed track record for sports channels from the sports leagues.

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter.

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