TV Guide is out with a list of the highest-paid performers on TV. The list is broken down --not just by news and prime-time-- but as far down as the difference between dramas and comedies. Here are some of the salaries:
Dramas (salary per episode): --Hugh Laurie ("House"): $400,000+ --Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: SVU"): $395,000 (each) --David Caruso ("CSI: Miami"): $375,000 --Marg Helgenberger ("CSI"): $375,000 --Laurence Fishburne ("CSI"): $350,000
Talk show hosts (salary per year): --Oprah Winfrey: $315 million --Judge Judy Sheindlin: $45 million --David Letterman (The Late Show): $28 million --Jay Leno (The Tonight Show): $25 million --Conan O'Brien (The Conan O'Brien Show): $10 million
Reality TV shows: --Ryan Seacrest ("American Idol"): $15 million --Joel McHale ("The Soup"): $2 million --Piers Morgan ("America's Got Talent"): $2 million --Kate Gosselin ("Kate Plus Eight"): $250,000 per episode --Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi (and the cast of "Jersey Shore"): $30,000 per episode
Comedy actors (salary per episode): --Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men"): $1.25 million --Jon Cryer ("Two and a Half Men"): $550,000 --Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner ("The Simpsons"): $400,000 --Tina Fey ("30 Rock"): $350,000 --Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"): $350,000
News (salaries per year): --Matt Lauer ("Today"): $16 million + --Katie Couric (CBS): $15 million --Bill O'Reilly (Fox News): $10 million --Keith Olbermann (MSNBC): $7 million --Wolf Blitzer (CNN): $3 million
