CHEN'S GOT A FRIEND

Apparently, there is someone out there who isn't gagging at Julie Chen's stomach-turning performance as host of CBS's reality tale Big Brother. And lucky for the Early Show newsreader, this particular fan also happens to be the head of the network. "Julie Chen, I think, has had a very, very difficult job," Leslie Moonves, CBS's president/CEO, told reporters at the TCA press tour. In particular, Moonves defended Chen's convoluted interview with ousted roomie and former New Black Panther, William. "When William came out of this house, she was dealing with, really, a twofold situation," he said. "Her main job is to find out about the experience of being in the house and being voted out of the house. She then had to shift into what was more of a pure news story on the basis of what was published on the front cover of the New York Daily News [the paper revealed William's ties to hatemonger Khalid Abdul Muhammad]. "It was a very difficult assignment. I think she handled it admirably." So... she's not fired?