Even if he is found not guilty of child abuse charges, Michael Jackson probably won’t be playing Santa Claus any time soon. But he sure resembled the white-haired gift-giver for CBS this holiday.
   Less than a month after nixing a November sweeps special featuring the increasingly wacko Jacko, CBS delivered two Jackson programs over a very slow holiday, bookending the two-week period.
  One, Jackson’s first interview since his recent arrest, delivered “60 Minutes’” best numbers among adults 18-49 in nearly four years. 
   The other, the originally scheduled sweeps special that CBS said at the time would not be in good taste to show after the allegations arose, but which it wheeled out nonetheless with the abuse charges still pending, pulled just under 11 million viewers Friday night, averaging a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating. That's a good showing considering it was up against ABC's Fiesta Bowl.
   The “60 Minutes” interview was the most-watched non-sports program during the two-week Christmas and New Year’s period from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4.
   Roughly 18.8 million viewers tuned in to the Dec. 28 segment, a third fewer than watched ABC’s Jackson sweeps special last February and about equivalent to the “60 Minutes” crowd who tuned in for a Lawrence Taylor interview a month before.
   Among young adults, Jacko was an especially big draw. The show averaged a 5.6 18-49 rating and a 6.9 25-54 rating. That marked “60 Minutes’” biggest audiences in those demos since January 2000.
   It was the first time “60 Minutes” has finished No. 1 for a week among total viewers since November 1998. The 18.8 million viewers were almost 20 percent above the show’s 15.8 million season average.
   Among the many odd if not incriminating revelations during the show were that Jacko considers himself a step up from Jack the Ripper and a vessel for bringing more love into the world.
   He told interviewer Ed Bradley that he would continue to invite kids to spend the night with him in a supposedly non-creepy way, saying, “Why not? If you're gonna be a pedophile, if you're gonna be Jack the Ripper, if you're gonna be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That I am not.”
   He later said, “I will never stop helping and loving people the way Jesus said to. He said continue to love, always love, remember children, imitate children.”
   Though nothing could certainly top that quote, here are some other interesting things that happened while we were away.
   * Martha Stewart, whose criminal trial on securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges begins next week, had a happier than expected new year. A federal judge last week denied a prosecution subpoena of 11 categories of documents from Stewart’s lawyers.
   Included were papers documenting Stewart’s involvement in crafting early statements denying that she engaged in insider trading. Several decisions in the case have already gone against Stewart, including the judge’s refusal to dismiss the charges. She also faces a civil suit brought by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia stockholders.
   * “60 Minutes” was the only non-sporting event to post decent ratings over the break. Though Fox trumpeted its best Thursday showing among 18-34s in five years, which came on an exceedingly slow Christmas night, “World Idol” attracted a mere 6.5 million viewers. By comparison, that’s 2 million fewer than tuned in for a repeat of ABC’s middling “Less Than Perfect” two days earlier.
   Fox also debuted ads for a show more potentially offensive than last year’s surprise hit “Joe Millionaire.” “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance,” in which a beautiful woman pretends, to the horror of her family, to be engaged to an obese bozo, starts Jan. 19.
  * MSNBC dumped its third high-profile host in less than a year as former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura followed Phil Donahue and Michael Savage out the door. Though at first the network termed the show’s stoppage a hiatus, it quickly amended it to an indefinite end. The Saturday program averaged just 250,000 viewers in a three-month run.
   * Though she won’t be taking Ventura’s place, former “Today” co-host Deborah Norville will be getting her own MSNBC show starting this month. She’ll continue to host the syndicated “Inside Edition,” but will also take over MSNBC’s vacant 9 p.m. time slot, former home to “The Abrams Report,” now at 6 p.m. That succeeded the canceled “Buchanan & Press.”
   Former CNN news anchor Connie Chung and former “View” token youngster Lisa Ling also were considered for the show.
   * James Garner has agreed to stay on ABC’s “8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter” for the rest of the season, extending his four-episode deal. Garner plays the father of Katey Sagal, whose character became a widow with the on- and off-screen passing of John Ritter.
   * In magazines, American Media hotted up an otherwise dull two weeks with allegations by CEO David Pecker that Women’s Wear Daily published an incorrect story about Star and editorial director Bonnie Fuller.
   Pecker spewed lots of complaints in a letter roasting writer Jacob Bernstein, who responded by laughing at the National Enquirer and Globe owner’s rail against anonymous sources. Pecker protested circulation numbers cited by Bernstein, among other complaints.
   But Pecker apparently has reason to be defensive. Foe Us Weekly broke the 1 million issue mark for the first time ever over Christmas, something Fuller never managed while she was editor.
   Star may have a new edge heading into this week’s redesign, though, as it has stolen Us senior editor Wendy Jenson to become entertainment director. And Us editor in chief Janice Min may be distracted in the coming months – over Christmas she told her staff that she is pregnant with her first child.
   * And finally, in new media news, the first federal spam canning law went into effect Jan. 1, but you may not have guessed it from your inbox. It could take months, and several court cases, for people to start seeing a slowdown in spamming.