Just seven months after inheriting the “Tonight Show,” Conan O’Brien — faced with a timeslot demotion — is close to finalizing his exit from NBC.

O’Brien’s short tenure as host of the storied late-night franchise is expected to conclude next Friday. That means Jay Leno will regain the reins of “The Tonight Show,” moving back to the 11:35 p.m. timeslot effective March 1 — the night after the Winter Olympics concludes.

O’Brien’s exit from NBC was being hammered out Friday, after days of negotiations and plenty of press speculation.

Details of the agreement — expected to be signed over the weekend — were not immediately disclosed. But it’s believed that as part of the settlement, O’Brien will be paid a sum worth more than eight figures — as much as between $30 million and $40 million.

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How the rapper found the balance between authenticity and enterprise, exclusivity and accessibility, gangster and CEo.  Read more.

Paperwork filed by Linda McMahon in Connecticut for her 2010 Senate reveal that her and Vince McMahon have upwards of $500 million in assets. Linda has donated over $3 million of McMahon money to the campaign, making her an “instant player” in the Senate race.

Chris Tuchscherer says Lesnar waited to make decision as long as he could.

WWE.com writer James Vermillion catches up with Lex Luger, as the Total Package went from bulging biceps to being paralyzed from the neck down 2 years ago.

Celebrities using Twitter is not a new phenomenon — it’s an increasingly common way for celebrities to promote new projects and connect with fans. But how do celebrities use Twitter? What’s the following/followers ratio? What is the sentiment for tweets involving celebrities? Brian Solis (FutureWorks) and PeopleBrowsr analyzed this information in his Twitter Celebrity Report for August 2009. Shout out to Cliff Tam for the assist.

Martin Bandier, chief executive of the music publisher Sony/ATV, is always on the hunt for new music catalogs. “I don’t think the checkbook is closed here,” he says.

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It’s amazing to think that it has been 10 years since The Rock first tried his hand at acting.

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