With the launch of CNN’s “New Day” just three weeks away, Michaela Pereira is packing her bags and moving to New York. But there was one last surprise in store for the KTLA morning anchor on her last Los Angeles broadcast: a surprise visit from “New Day” anchor Chris Cuomo.

“I know it’s hard to have somebody with the energy and the passion that Michaela has leave. It’s hard,” Cuomo told Pereira’s KTLA co-anchors. “But I gotta tell you — guys, look at it this way: I really need her. I need her more than you need her. You guys are #1, you’re #1 forever, I need her!”

The KTLA co-anchors offered to swap Pereira for Wolf Blitzer or John King. “I’d have to go to [Jeff] Zucker, to see if maybe he would do both jobs, because he’s the only guy with enough star power,” Cuomo joked. Watch the video after the jump. Read more

The Daily beast’s Christopher Dickey writes about the forthcoming launch of Al Jazeera America, and the impact it could have on American TV news. Dickey asks

It always seemed a little improbable that Arab sheiks could save American journalism. But in a business as troubled as the vast wasteland of American television news, hope springs eternal, and the Al Jazeera network out of Qatar seemed to offer an opulent oasis…

I’ve been following the ups and downs of Al Jazeera America all year, talking to staffers in the States, Europe, and the Middle East, and it’s still a good guess its pockets are too deep for it to fail, at least in the short term—or at least not before it launches. It will go on the air sometime in the not-too-dim future. And it will bring a lot of fresh energy as well as controversy to the news scene in the world’s most important television market. It could transform the way we see news and the way we think about it. But, then again, it could be a disaster in almost every sense of the word.

Another shareholder meeting, another protest. Following in the footsteps of Disney and Comcast, shareholders at the CBS meeting accused CBS News and “60 Minutes” of anti-semitism in a story on the venerable program.

The story–about Christians leaving the Holy Land–got a few facts wrong, and the activists claim that the cause is the local Muslim population, rather than the local Jewish population, as the story suggests. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves staunchly defended the program.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Paul Bond has more:

“The failure of CBS News to take action on this matter remains astonishing and inexplicable,” she said at the shareholder’s meeting, which was held for the first time at the CBS studios in Los Angeles…

Each of the CAMERA representatives spoke twice, and Moonves responded that he was standing by the 60 Minutes segment. CBS general counsel Louis Briskman spoke of 60 Minutes being the “crown jewel” of CBS News, and he said that the show’s “First Amendment rights should not be chilled.”

“CBS Sunday Morning” has been on something of a ratings renaissance. The Sunday morning show, which differentiates itself from the Sunday competition by focusing on feature stories and culture, had its best season in total viewers since the 1992-1993 season, and its best May sweeps since Nielsen “People Meters” were first used in 1987.

“Sunday Morning” has been averaging 5.67 million viewers during the 2012-2013 season, up +8% from the 2011-2012 season. In the adults 25-54 demo, it has been averaging a 1.5 rating/07 share, up +7%. It was its best season in A25-54 since the 2009-2010 season.

For sweeps, “Sunday Morning” was handily the top Sunday morning news program, averaging 5.57 million viewers, including a 1.5 rating/07 share in A25-54. In addition to being the best total viewer delivery since at least 1987, it had its best demo performance since 2007, and was up double digits compared to May of 2012.

Here’s something you don’t see every day: last night the top two cable news channels in the adults 25-54 demo in primetime were CNBC (683K) and HLN (397K). Fox News was third (382K), MSNBC fourth (195K) and CNN fifth (167K). What the heck was going on?

The answer: hockey and Jodi Arias.

CNBC had an NHL Stanley Cup playoff game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers, which peaked with over 2 million viewers at 9 PM, and over 1 million adults 25-54. HLN had more on the Jodi Arias trial, with the jury unable to come to a decision on her sentencing. HLN peaked before prime at 7 PM with Jane Velez-Mitchell, who drew over 2 million viewers, but still averaged more than a million viewers during the 8 and 9 PM hours. It was reaonably strong all day in the demo.

In total viewers Fox News still placed first in primetime, followed by CNBC, HLN, MSNBC and CNN. The full scoreboard, which does not include CNBC, can be viewed here.

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 284 | MSNBC: 117 | CNN: 145 | HLN: 307

• Primetime: FNC: 382 | MSNBC: 195 | CNN: 167 | HLN: 397

Read more

Politico’s Dylan Byers digs deeper into the story of CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. Byers reports that Attkisson, who openly discussed the challenge of getting her stories on the air, is in talks to leave the network, but that CBS would like her to stay.

CBS News president David Rhodes is said to value her diligence, but there are others, most notably Pat Shevlin, the executive producer of CBS Evening News, who are wary of her motives and have even dismissed her, in private, as a partisan carrying water for Republicans. Alternatively, some sources suggested that Shevlin’s own political bias, which they described as liberal, was to blame.

“She is a dogged reporter, a good reporter, but some people here get the feeling she goes too far — that she’s agenda driven,” a source told Byers. “She’s not afraid, and that’s a great thing. But sometimes people here believe she has to be reined in.”

As “Rock Center” prepares for its final broadcast next month, NBC News is in the process of laying off some of the show’s production staff, an NBC spokesperson confirms to TVNewser.

The layoffs are expected to affect only “Rock Center” staffers, who were notified of the cuts Thursday. NBC News is attempting to place as many employees as possible elsewhere at the network. 60 percent of “Rock Center” staffers have already been offered other positions within NBC.

The layoffs will go into effect after the show’s final broadcast on June 21.

“Good Morning America” co-anchor Lara Spencer called it a “TV moment,” and indeed Mariah Carey‘s appearance on “GMA” this morning would certainly seem to qualify.

The singer–there to launch “GMA’”s Summer concert series–said “oh shit” on-air (she later suggested that she actually said “shoot”), and the back of her dress popped open, though thankfully we were spared any sort of Janet Jackson ”wardrobe malfunction.”

ABC News, to its credit, posted the video in full on Goodmorningamerica.com.

WATCH:

The board of News Corp. has formally approved the motion to split the company in two. News Corp.’s newspaper and publishing businesses, along with its Australian businesses, will become the new News Corp., while the company’s TV, film and studio businesses (including Fox News Channel) will now be part of 21st Century Fox.

“Today’s announcement is a significant step in creating two independent companies with the world’s leading portfolios of publishing and media and entertainment assets,” said Rupert Murdoch, who will serve as Chairman and CEO of the proposed 21st Century Fox, and Executive Chairman of the new News Corporation. “We continue to believe that the separation will unlock the true value of both companies and their distinct assets, enabling investors to benefit from the separate strategic opportunities resulting from more focused management of each division.”

The company also announced the board members for the new companies. More information here.