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The Morning Fix: Globes! Globes! Globes! Whose idea was it to move Leno?

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After the coffee. Before Golden Globe numbers are in. And how about them Jets?
Gleeful Globes. It was a big night for News Corp.’s Fox at the Golden Globes. ‘Avatar’ was a big winner on the movie side, and Jeff Bridges took home a trophy for Fox Searchlight’s ‘Crazy Heart.’ On the TV side, Fox’s ‘Glee’ cleaned up. On top of that, the company was smart enough to hold its party away from the craziness at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Lots of NBC bashing throughout the night, so much that it got, frankly, a little tiring. As for host Ricky Gervais, we’re still trying to decide if he was funny or just nasty. Globes coverage and reviews from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood and the Wrap.

NBC: The back story. Or should we say the way-back story? The New York Times on Sunday weighed in with a lengthy Page 1 take on NBC’s woes and how it got into this whole Conan O’Brien-Jay Leno mess in the first place. The article is part corporate meltdown, part history lesson. NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker came out of hiding to defend the moves of Leno to prime time and his subsequent return to late night. Bill Cosby and former toppers Fred Silverman and Bob Wright also weighed in. Get a big cup of coffee and a bagel for this one. As for Conan, the deal to free him from NBC with a pocketful of cash should be done early this week, maybe even today, although because some bloggers have been saying it’s been done since last Thursday, we’ll steer clear of specific predictions.

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If true, this is too good! In the above-mentioned New York Times article, one of the harsher critics of NBC’s decision to put Leno in prime time was former boss Fred Silverman. TMZ has a story up with what it claims is an e-mail Silverman sent to then-entertainment bosses Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff pitching the whole idea in early 2008. Either this is NBC’s revenge on Fred Silverman or another TMZ story like the one with JFK on the boat with all the topless girls.

Rupert looking (middle) east? Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is considering furthering its already deep relationship with Saudi billionaire and media mogul Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Co., according to the Associated Press.

Some movies opened this weekend. But until ‘Avatar’ is out of theaters, does it matter? Final numbers for the three-day weekend will be in today. However, it looks like ‘Avatar’ remains at the top with over $40 million. Denzel Washington’s ‘The Book of Eli’ did over $30 million. More from the Hollywood Reporter.

CBS’ research hub. It’s not exactly like getting a sneak peak at CIA headquarters, but Advertising Age takes us inside CBS’ Las Vegas research center. Not only does the network test shows there, but it analyzes how media consumption habits are changing. The network picked Vegas because sooner or later every type of American passes through there.

Jack’s back. Normally we don’t plug reviews of TV shows or movies here, but this is Jack Bauer we’re talking about. Fox’s ‘24’ has returned for its eighth season, and this time Bauer is stuck in New York City. Took me 10 years to get out of there; we’ll see if he can do it in a day. Reviews from USA Today and the New York Times . Also, I’m following each episode on our Showtracker blog (yes, this was all about a self-serving plug), so log in; I need hits. If you don’t, it’ll take more than Jack Bauer to save me!

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Richard Verrier on the newest player in the movie theater biz. CW’s sweet ‘Life Unexpected’ might make you forget the network’s horrible remake of ‘Melrose Place.’ John Horn on the Golden Globes. The back story of ‘The Blind Side.’

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-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter.

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