TUBE TALK Where in the world is (huh!) Matt Lauer? Probably at the bank. TV Guide reports that the ''Today'' host, who had a year to go on his current contract, signed a deal with NBC to stay on through 2005 at a salary of $8 million a year, double what he makes now. Apparently, NBC felt it had to renegotiate Lauer's deal in order to bring his salary more in line with that of his colleague Katie Couric, whose recently renewed contract pays her a reported $13 million a year for five years, and also to forestall the possibility of his jumping ship to replace his pal Bryant Gumbel, soon to leave CBS' ''The Early Show.''
The latest name mentioned as a possible Gumbel replacement? Bill Clinton. That was the rumor, anyway, though the former president's spokesperson has called it ''total bull,'' and CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves denied that his network had met with Clinton, saying, ''Why would he do it?'' (After all, the job pays only about half the reported $15 million a year that Clinton reportedly earns on the lecture circuit, and the hours are brutal.) However, Clinton may yet become a TV host, according to the Los Angeles Times, which attributes to ''several television sources'' the news that Clinton met with NBC executives Wednesday to discuss hosting his own daytime talk show. The paper's sources say Clinton asked for $50 million a year to do a show, that he wanted his friends Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason (''Evening Shade'') to produce it, and that he had aspirations ''of becoming the next Oprah Winfrey.'' Neither NBC nor Clinton's reps would comment on the possible talk show, but with Oprah bowing out in four years, maybe there's an opening for the man who said, ''I feel your pain.''...
A recent email circulating that purports to be the work of ''The Bachelor'' star Alex Michel, which makes unflattering references to finalists Amanda and Trista, has proved to be a hoax. The offending message read in part, ''There is no doubt that Amanda is much fatter that Trista, but the producers made me pick the underdog. Don't worry, I bagged Trista. Alex.'' This was appended to an email exchange between Michel and Harvard buddy Jeffrey Sahrbeck, whom Michel had asked to send emails to his friends reminding them to watch last week's finale. One of the recipients was Jonathan Locker, who has admitted to the New York Post that he forged the caddish reply. ''I feel really bad about it,'' he tells the paper....
Nobody's going to want to party on or around Sept. 11, especially in New York. Already, there's talk of having New York and London switch their annual weeks of September fashion shows so that no one has to model new clothes during the one-year anniversary of the 2001 attacks. Yesterday, MTV announced that its annual , which usually take place in New York the first Thursday in September, will be moved up a week to August 29. They'll be held at Radio City Music Hall, marking their sixth time at that venue.
SOUND BITES Kenny Chesney had no problem booting Ashanti from the perch atop the Billboard album chart she'd held for three weeks. The country singer-songwriter's ''No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems'' debuted at No. 1 and sold 235,325 copies, according to SoundScan. ''Ashanti,'' pushed to No. 2, sold 143,175 discs, enough to push it past 1 million sales for platinum status after just four weeks in release. Holding in third place, Celine Dion's ''A New Day Has Come'' moved 114,125 units. In its second week, Sheryl Crow's ''C'mon, C'mon'' slipped two spots to No. 4, with sales of 110,875. Compilation ''NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 9'' was fifth, selling 109,300 copies.
