Credit: CBS News

ABC News correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi is joining Showtime’s ”60 Minutes Sports” as a contributor, TVNewser has learned.

The move is something of a homecoming for Alfonsi, who had been a correspondent and anchor for CBS News before leaving in 2008 for ABC. CBS News’ “60 Minutes” co-produces “60 Minutes Sports,” the sports newsmagazine that airs on its sister network Showtime.

Alfonsi has been a New York-based correspondent at ABC since 2008.  She was an anchor for CBS affiliate WBZ-TV in Boston before joining the parent network.

At ABC she recently worked on the network’s “Made in America” series, as well as a year-long investigation on “Generation Meds.” Those two efforts were noted in an email ABC News president Ben Sherwood sent to staff this afternoon (read it after the jump).

Alfonsi is the second high-profile ABC correspondent to depart in the last few weeks. The network’s White House correspondent Jake Tapper announced his move to CNN last month.
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25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 274 | MSNBC: 144 | CNN: 113 | HLN: 96

• Primetime: FNC: 332 | MSNBC: 170 | CNN: 137 | HLN: 143

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• One month after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, Anderson Cooper will anchor a special AC360° “United in Newtown,” tonight at 8pmET. Country superstar Kenny Chesney recorded a special version of “Amazing Grace” for AC360°, which premiers on the show.

• Next month PBS devotes an entire week to gun violence in America called “After Newtown.” “Frontline,” “Need to Know,” “Nova,” “Washington Week with Gwen Ifill,” and “PBS Newshour” will offer special reports during the week of February 18.

• MSNBC’s Tamron Hall will be working overtime on another network. NBC’s Peacock Productions will produce “Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall” for Investigation Discovery. The show promises to go beyond the headlines of a crime to explore what happened and how it was investigated. The 13-part series premieres on ID in the fall.

CNET reporter Greg Sandoval has resigned from the CBS-owned website, citing a lack of confidence in CBS’ commitment to editorial independence.

Hello all. Sad to report that I’ve resigned from CNET. I no longer have confidence that CBS is committed to editorial independence.

— Greg Sandoval (@sandoCNET) January 14, 2013

Last week, CNET named Dish Network’s Hopper, which allows viewers to skip primetime commercials on the major broadcast networks, as a finalist for its “Best in Show” award at CES. CNET later removed the Hopper from the list “due to active litigation involving our parent company CBS Corp.” CBS is involved in a lawsuit with Dish over the ad-skipping technology.

“We will no longer be reviewing products manufactured by companies with which we are in litigation with respect to such product,” a statement at the bottom of the finalist list reads.

Sandoval, who has also worked at the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, said CNET’s leaders are “honest but used poor judgement.”

“I’m not disgruntled. CBS and CNET were great to me,” he tweeted. “I just want to be known as an honest reporter.”

CNET’s editor in chief details the editorial process today. “Going forward, I will do everything within my power to prevent this situation from happening again,” she writes.

Marty Ryan (center), talks to Chris Wallace and Brian Wilson at the 2006 FNC holiday party.

The executive producer of “Fox News Sunday,” Marty Ryan, is retiring.

Ryan told staffers on “Fox News Sunday” and executives at the channel about his decision in the last few weeks. His final show will be sometime next month, and the last major political event he will produce will be the 2013 State of the Union address, for which he will serve as a co-producer.

Ryan joined Fox News before the channel launched in 1996 to oversee “Fox News Sunday,” which was then hosted by Tony Snow. When Chris Wallace took over as moderator of the program in 2003, Ryan stayed on as EP of the program, making him a constant in a business often rife with churn and change.

Ryan has been a force behind the scenes on the network’s political and election coverage ever since launching the Sunday public affairs show, and has produced a number of election nights, debates, inaugurations and other news stories of all stripes.

While Ryan has spent the last 17 years at the helm of ” Fox News Sunday,” he is also a former executive producer of NBC’s “Today,” which he oversaw from 1987-1990. Before being elevated to EP, Ryan was a senior producer on the program from 1982-1987.

As disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong prepares to sit down with Oprah Winfrey tonight (the interview will air on OWN Thursday), the chairman of CBS News says that the network regrets that Armstrong didn’t sit with them instead.

“We wanted the Lance Armstrong interview badly. He chose to go with Oprah,” said Jeff Fager, who is also the executive producer of the iconic newsmagazine. Fager was speaking on a panel about “60 Minutes Sports” at the Television Critics Association Winter press tour in Pasadena.

Admittedly, CBS and Armstrong do not have the friendliest history. In 2011 Armstrong demanded an apology from the network for airing a story that suggested he was a cheat, which it now seems clear he was. Fager responded to the lawsuit by asserting that the reporting by “60 Minutes” was thorough and accurate.

“CBS This Morning” co-anchor Gayle King, who happens to be Oprah’s best friend, said this morning that the talk-show host has been “pulling all-nighters” in advance of the interview.

“And what I know about this story is that it all came together within the last week,” King said. “And Oprah spent this past week pulling what you did in college, all-nighters getting ready. So whatever Lance has to say, she is certainly prepared.”

A U.S. Marine who was freed from a Mexican prison last month–in part because of aggressive coverage from Bill O’Reilly–will be appearing on “The O’Reilly Factor” tonight.

The Marine, Jon Hammar, was thrown into a Mexican prison after attempting to declare an antique shotgun (which was illegal in Mexico) at the border. After four months in prison, his family went public with the details to garner media coverage. O’Reilly dedicated more time to Hammar’s plight than any other program on cable news.

Hammar was originally slated to appear on the program earlier this month, but canceled due to emotional distress  His father appeared in his place:

President Obama began the final press conference of his first term at 11:40 AM ET this morning, and the news of the day was focused on the looming (again!) debt ceiling and deficit fight. The broadcasters carried the presser, as did the cable news channels.

Julie Pace of the AP gets the first question (and a shoutout from the President), asked about gun violence on the one-month anniversary of the Newtown shooting.

Chuck Todd from NBC gets question two, and asks about executive action on the debt ceiling.

Major Garrett from CBS News gets question three, and also asks about the process of raising the debt ceiling.

Jon Karl from ABC News gets question four, and asks about the President using executive action on guns, as well as about long lines for gun shops across the country.

Julianna Goldman from Bloomberg TV gets question five, and asks whether the President is serious about negotiating with House Republicans.

Matt Spetalnik of Reuters gets question six, and asks whether the President is willing to accept a government shutdown.

Jackie Calmes from the New York Times gets the last question, and asks about criticisms of the White House, including asking about having a more diverse cabinet.

The HBO movie “Game Change” took home three Golden Globe awards last night, including a “best actress” award for Julianne Moore, who portrayed former VP candidate Sarah Palin in the film. Based on the book of the same name, “Game Change” dramatized the machinations behind the 2008 presidential campaigns.

“I would like to give a shout-out to two people who made significant contribution to the 2008 election, Tina Fey and Katie Couric,” Moore said in accepting the award. Fey portrayed Palin on “Saturday Night Live,” while Couric’s interview with the former VP candidate made headlines. 

Moore also won an Emmy for her role. And in her acceptance speech last September said, “I feel so validated because Sarah Palin gave me a big thumbs down.”

WATCH:

Ten years in the making at a cost of of £1.04 billion pounds ($1.67 billion), BBC News launched from its new home at the revamped Broadcasting House in central London. The state of the art facility — as we’ve been told several times — began with the program “GMT” at 7amET, NoonGMT.

The New Broadcasting house includes a staff of 6,000, has three 24-hour TV channels, nine radio networks and 26 foreign language services.

In the clip after the jump, watch the final few seconds of the old and the first couple minutes from the new state of the art facility. Did you hear it’s state of the art?

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