Via Eurweb.com:
Oprah Winfrey and Laurence Fishburne are among TV’s highest-paid performers in various categories, according to a newly released breakdown of star salaries from TV Guide.
Winfrey, of course, tops the talk show category with $315 million earned this year. Judge Judy Sheindlin places second with $45 million, followed by David Letterman (“The Late Show”) $28 million, Jay Leno (” Tonight Show”) $25 million and Conan O’Brien (“The Conan O’Brien Show”) $10 million.
Fishburne, whose daughter’s budding porn career has thrust him into the headlines, places 4th on the list of highest paid drama actors alongside his “CSI” co-star Marg Helgenberger with their $375,000 each per episode. They’re preceded by Hugh Laurie (“House”) with more than $400,000, Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: SVU”) at $395,000 each and David Caruso (CSI: Miami) with $375,000.
The rest of the categories break down as follows:
Reality TV (per year): 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 (Jersey Shore) $30,000 per episode
Comedy actors (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, Steve Carell (The Office) $297,000, Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) $100,000, Betty White (Hot in Cleveland) $75,000.
News (per year): Matt Lauer (Today) more than $16 million, Katie Couric (CBS) $15 million, Bill O’Reilly (Fox News) $10 million, Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) $7 million, Wolf Blitzer (CNN) $3 million.
