JOSSIP IN-DEPTH — David Gregory will be your next Meet The Press moderator, even if nobody on the inside is confirming it. On Gregory's end, his agent won't confirm the news probably because the contract isn't finalized and signed yet, even if the verbal arrangement is in place. Same goes for 30 Rock's insistence that Gregory isn't their man yet. But it's pretty much all said and done at this point. The Times' Bill Carter says NBC "settled on David Gregory," which almost sounds like an inadvertent backhand. The Washington Post's media recycler Howard Kurtz claims the two are in "advanced negotiations," though two sentences later covers his butt by adding, "if not derailed at the last minute."

When the announcement is made that Gregory is taking the job, it will mean he beat out Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Chris Matthews, Gwen Ifill, John King, Katie Couric, and (yes, Tina Brown) even Rachel Maddow, who wasn't in the running.

The whole "Who will NBC pick?!" charade has been a numbing experience; between Tim Russert's death and this week's news about Gregory, there's been a historic presidential election, a terrorist attack in India, the collapse of America's economy, and a new Britney Spears album. But before we can start focusing on how Gregory can fuck up the MTP brand, let's take a moment to realize how we got here.

Tim Russert Died
On June 13, Russert collapsed at NBC's Washington D.C. bureau and was soon pronounced dead. He was 58.

The Replacement Hunt Begins
Just days later, Jossip comes out with a list of all likely candidates, and what could help or hurt them in landing the job.

A Star is Born
Son Luke Russert brings everyone to tears at the funeral.

Onslaught of Coverage
His death was covered by most every network, which was either a sign that the guy really did touch a lot of lives, or the media industry remains insular and addicted to talking about itself. Either way, ratings spiked.

Tom Brokaw Stands In
Filling in for his old friend, the former NBC Nightly News anchor agrees to moderate MTP until brass can name a permanent host. (Brian Williams moderated for a week.)

Divas Head to the Funeral
With all of NBC still in mourning, rumors begin circulating that "diva" Keith Olbermann demanded premiere transportation arrangements, or his wasn't going to attend the funeral of his colleague.

Mark Whitaker Takes Over Russert's Managing Editor Gig
It took only a few weeks for NBC News to name a successor to Russert's behind-the-scenes role.

Widow Maureen Orth Still Welcome at NBC
To plug her book.

Luke Russert Hired
Tim's recent college graduate of a son Luke is hired by NBC News to cover the youth movement during the election.

Staffers Have Their Say
At the beginning of August we spoke with insiders at 30 Rock, who didn't voice support for Chuck Todd or David Gregory.

Russert's Office Razed
After promising to keep Tim Russert's office left alone as a memorial, in August NBC bulldozed the place to make space for a new conference room.

Who Will Take Over?
Serious lobbying, aimed at NBC head Jeff Zucker and NBC News president Steve Capus, begins. And so do the takedowns of Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory, and Chuck Todd.

Ratings Trouble
With Tom Brokaw still interim hosting the show, ratings slipped.

And Meanwhile, Luke
Having been named NBC News' youth correspondent, Tim's son Luke helps himself to the rest of the NBC network.

The Gwen Ifill Campaign
The excellent Gwen Ifill, formerly of NBC and currently of PBS, got her biggest support boost to date in October, where all her qualifications were spelled out for the job. Most notably, she wasn't a middle-aged white guy.

Still No Word
At the beginning of November, still nobody had a definitive clue who NBC would pick.

Ted Koppel's Name Floated
At the end of last month, having not renewed his Discover Channel contract, former ABC anchor Ted Koppel's name began floating around as a possible successor.

Gregory's Final Speculation
And this week, outlets like The Huffington Post and Politico were calling it for Gregory.

Yup, this is the guy who stands accused of ditching his own show Race For The White House to appear on The Daily Show. This is the guy who's known to backstab colleagues when his personal interests are at stake. This it the guy married to Beth Wilkinson, the former exec VP and general counsel to Fannie Mae up until September, building up Gregory's conflicts of interest when it comes to reporting on the economy.

Meanwhile, now everyone wants to find out how NBC's picking Gregory leaked. One theory: His colleagues who didn't get selected pushed the story to the press, out of some mix of bitterness and congratulations.

One other theory: NBC News talent chief Elena Nachmanoff, the person quite involved in who makes it in front of a camera, and who's getting blamed for the Gen. Barry McCaffrey conflict of interest, delivered the news on a silver platter to the media — which may have been a last "fuck you" to the network. Indeed, Nachmanoff's name has been pulled from NBC News' Media Village bio listings. Was she already fired by NBC for the McCaffrey scandal, and planting the Gregory story is her revenge?

Either way, allow us to leave you with this memory, about the time David Gregory and Tim Russert were dining together earlier this year, and Gregory mouthed off to a waitress and got a scolding from the very man whose job he's about to take.