A vote by the leaders of the Screen Actors Guild on Sunday has simultaneously ratcheted up negotiation efforts and the possibility of strike.

The guild's national board of directors voted to formally request a federal mediator for stalled contract talks with studios and, at the same time, agreed to ask members if they want to authorize a strike.

The resolution "authorizes a referendum and accompanying educational information be sent to the members requesting their authorization for the National Board to call a strike" if negotiations fail.

If 75 percent of SAG's 120,000 members vote in favor of a labor action, it would then be left to the national negotiating committee to call the strike if it deems it necessary.

"We hope mediation will help move this process forward," said Screen Actors Guild national president Alan Rosenberg in a statement. "This action by the board demonstrates our commitment to bargain with the strength of our unified membership behind us."

SAG's chief negotiator Doug Allen said the union's goal remains securing a good contract without a strike.

Actors in prime-time television and movies have been working under the terms of a contract that expired June 30, hoping to avoid a repeat of the 100-day writers' strike that ended in February.

That strike cost the Los Angeles-area economy an estimated $2.5 billion.

The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said recently that, considering the current economic turmoil, it is "unrealistic for SAG negotiators now to expect even better terms during this grim financial climate."

The actors guild wants union coverage of all shows made for the Internet, and residual payments for actors on made-for-Internet shows. It also demands protections for actors during work stoppages.

The alliance has stuck by a final offer it made June 30, which it said mirrored deals accepted by directors, a smaller actors union called the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and writers following their strike. (Associated Press)

Sen. John McCain's much-anticipated return to "Late Show With David Letterman" on Thursday drew the show's largest audience in almost three years.

More than 6.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the Republican presidential nominee try to smooth things over with Letterman after standing the comedian up at the last minute three weeks ago.

That's the best viewership for "Late Show" since Oprah Winfrey's appearance Dec. 1, 2005, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. And it's a boost of 73 percent over the show's average audience so far this season. (Mates Gold, Los Angeles Times)

A trade paper reports that NBC Universal plans to cut $500 million in spending next year to prepare for an expected continuation of the worldwide economic slowdown.

Variety says president and CEO Jeff Zucker announced the cuts Friday in a staff memo. The reduction would equal 3 percent of the company's budget.

Variety says division heads will decide how to reduce their spending.

But Zucker's memo suggested several ways, including staffing reductions and cutbacks in budgets for travel, entertainment and promotions.

Variety says the memo didn't specifically mention any layoff plans. It's unclear how many staffers might be affected by the spending drop. (AP)

The entertainment summit of the season -- Sarah Palin and her impersonator, Tina Fey -- earned "Saturday Night Live" its best ratings in 14 years. But if you blinked, you might have missed it.

Fey was answering questions at a news conference, something Palin hasn't done yet as the Republican vice presidential nominee, when Palin walked on the stage. Fey beat a hasty retreat in the opening segment, walking past the real Palin with a barely perceptible nod.

If anyone was hoping for a side-by-side photo of the identically dressed women, they were out of luck.

Palin's guest shot, widely anticipated since Fey began imitating her a month ago, led "Saturday Night Live" to its highest mark in overnight Nielsen Media Research ratings since March 1994, when assaulted skater Nancy Kerrigan was guest host.

Although a complete audience estimate for the rest of the country won't be available until later in the week, it is likely to be around 14 million.

For the first half-hour, when Palin first came out, the audience was about 17 million. That's pretty impressive for a TV program around midnight. The week before, only two other shows in prime time had a bigger audience, Nielsen said.

Palin told WWOR-TV in New York in an interview Sunday that she had a great time -- but did not attend the after-party.

"I would do that again in a heartbeat," she said. "It was the most welcoming and friendly environment that you could imagine. Everyone was so nice, and, you know, you have to have a sense of humor through all of this. You have to have some levity through this. Otherwise, it would really, I think, grind on you and wear you out."

"SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels owes Palin a debt of gratitude.

"Saturday Night Live" so far this season has been up 76 percent over last year at this time, Nielsen said.

Even beyond that, the Fey skits have gone viral over the Internet, drawing more attention to the show. One study last week said only one-third of people who had seen Fey's impersonations did so on live TV; the rest saw them on DVRs or on their computers. (David Bauder, AP)

KDKA-TV has hired a new general assignment reporter, David Hall, previously at WTOC in Savannah, Ga. He begins work in Pittsburgh on Nov. 3. ... Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" returns for the first of its final 10 episodes on Jan. 16. ... Fox has ordered a full second season of the low-rated "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles." (Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor)