With season two of HBO’s “The Newsroom” right around the corner, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that HBO and Aaron Sorkin put together an all-star list of paid consultants to help make the show as “real” as possible.

Among the notable names: MSNBC host Chris Matthews (whose son Thomas Matthews is an actor on the show), CNN anchors Ashleigh Banfield and Natalie Allen (CNN is a sister network to HBO), MSNBC’s S.E. Cupp and Alex Wagner and former CNN and MSNBC president Rick Kaplan. The full list is here.

“I’ll be coming to you for everything from simple research questions to: ‘What kinds of conversations would there be about how to cover Trayvon Martin? Sandra Fluke? The contradictory stories about the circumstances under which Bin Laden was shot?’” he wrote in a lengthy welcome note to the group last fall.

THR also wrote a lengthy cover story about season two of “The Newsroom.” You can read it here.

Alphonso Van Marsh is joining CBS News as a correspondent for News Services, the newsgathering service for CBS stations and broadcasters around the world. London-based Van Marsh spent a decade reporting for CNN, where his assignments took him around the world. Marsh broke the story of Saddam Hussein’s capture in Iraq, earning him a 2004 National Headliner Award. After leaving CNN, Marsh was freelance correspondent in Cairo for NBC News. The California-Berkeley and Medill Graduate School alum began his broadcasting career in 1994 as a Correspondent for Medill News Service in Washington.

The official trailer for “Anchorman 2″ has been released, and Ron Burgundy is back — in the 1980s. Burgundy and the gang have transitioned from local news to a 24-hour news channel to do “the thing that God put Ron Burgundy on this Earth to do: have salon quality hair and read the news.” Watch:

This week, Fox Business Network is looking for a new producer, and CNBC is hiring an editorial producer. Meanwhile, Fusion is seeking an associate news editor, as well as a few good studio control room technicians. Get the scoop on these openings below, and find additional just-posted gigs on Mediabistro.

• Producer Fox Business (Washington, DC)
• Editorial Producer CNBC (Englewood Cliffs, NJ)
• Associate News Editor Fusion (Miami, FL)
• Studio Control Room Technicians Fusion (Miami, FL)
• Social Media Manager Comedy Central (Santa Monica, CA)

Find more great TV jobs on the TVNewser job board. Looking to hire? Tap into our network of talented TVNewser pros and post a risk-free job listing. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

Code and Theory is a creative agency behind publishing websites like “The Verge,” and “Interview” magazine. They also have an odd fondness for the Dewey Decimal System.

Managing partners Steve Baer and Mike Treff took the mediabistroTV crew on an Olde Timey New York meets modern design tour of their fifth floor offices on the corner of Prince and Broadway. The guys showed how they added wide open spaces, planned randomness and hip wood floors to the windows, the wood and the brick that originally came with the building built by the Astor family in 1886. Then there were the books, the many, many, many books.

You can view our other MediabistroTV productions on our YouTube Channel.

Following the news that Terry Moran would be leaving “Nightline” to become chief foreign correspondent for ABC News, the network has named Dan Abrams as chief legal affairs anchor and an anchor for “Nightline.”

In addition to anchoring ABC’s late night news program and reporting on legal issues for the network, he will have an expanded role on “Good morning America,” including a new branded segment.

“Dan brings a passion for news and an entrepreneurial zeal to all of his work,” ABC News president Ben Sherwood wrote in an email to staff. ” Now he’ll have new opportunities to deliver his signature reporting to the Nightline audience, in prime time on ABC’s The Lookout, in the mornings on GMA, and on World News, ABCNews.com, ABC News Radio, and all our platforms.”

Abrams will be stepping back from day-to-day oversight at Abrams Media, which includes Mediaite.com, to devote his attention to ABC. He is a TV news veteran, having previously served as anchor, legal analyst and general manager of MSNBC, and joined ABC News in 2011.
Sherwood’s note, below.
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Contributor Tobin Smith is defending himself following his dismissal as a Fox News and Fox Business analyst.

“I am no longer a Fox contributor,” he writes on his NBT Equities Research. “I thank them for a 14 year run… but all good things come to an end.”

Smith was shown the door late yesterday following a MarketWatch.com story about conflicts of interest. Smith made $50,000 for pushing a particular stock via email, often called Sponsored Research. But it leaves the impression on Fox viewers that Smith recommends the stock of Petrosonic, an energy company. (The stock is down -23% this morning). But Smith writes that he, “NEVER EVER mentioned Petrosonic on ANY appearance on Fox News or Fox Business News.”

Smith is not be alone, however. While $50,000 to tout one stock is a whopper of a payout, equity analysts, as one-off guests or paid contributors, are the lifeblood of the business networks. Viewers expect it. Producers need it. Networks have disclosures and policies in place for such circumstances whether you’re a guest or host. FBN’s goes like this:

“No Contributor to FBN, nor his/her firm, and/or family members are allowed to accept financial consideration of any kind whatsoever to issue research, advertisements, or to otherwise promote individual stocks or securities.”

But Smith argues that clause was not part of his Fox deal: “For the record, my last contributor agreement with Fox News did NOT include any exclusion from me or my company sponsored research.”

So is Fox making an example out of Tobin Smith? And how many Tobin Smiths are out there?

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly talks to the AP about adapting his many books for TV.

“Killing Lincoln: was a hit for Nat Geo, and now “Killing Kennedy” is in production. O’Reilly is an executive producer of the TV adaptations, but he emphasizes that he doesn’t get in the way:

“I’m a creative guy and I don’t like meddling in my writing or my broadcasting,” O’Reilly said. “They run stuff by me but I’m a 90-percenter … they know what they’re doing. It’s a successful machine, so why do I want to muck it up? … They can take a little bit of a creative liberty to move the narrative, but they can’t change the facts. And it’s as simple as that.”

O’Reilly also appeared on CBS’ “The Late Show” for Father’s Day. He and David Letterman talked about their young kids, who are the same age (h/t Johnny $).

WATCH:
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“Nightline” anchor Terry Moran is leaving the late-night show and moving to London to become an anchor and chief foreign correspondent for ABC News. He will move across the pond later this Summer.

Moran is an ABC News veteran, serving as White House correspondent from 1999-2005, before joining “Nightline.” He joined ABC News in 1997 from Court TV, where he was an anchor and correspondent. He will report on this term’s Supreme Court decisions before departing for London.

“Terry’s range as a reporter is exceptional. He is equally adept interviewing a confessed hit man in one of Mexico’s most notorious gangs as he is breaking down some of the most complex Supreme Court decisions,” ABC News president Ben Sherwood wrote in a note to staff this morning. “A brilliant writer and gifted storyteller, Terry has the ability to see the story no one else sees, explain its importance to the audience, and do it all in a stylish and compelling way.”

Moran departs “Nightline” as it continues to try and find its way in its new 12:35 AM timeslot. Earlier this month Moran’s colleagues Bill Weir and Cynthia McFadden defended the program in an interview with the AP, arguing that it still produces top quality journalism, even as it lost more than half of its audience.

Sherwood’s note, below.
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Al Jazeera America will launch an American version of “The Stream,” one of the more popular programs on Al Jazeera English. Like its AJE counterpart, the AJAM version of “The Stream” will be anchored by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Fletcher, and will originate from Washington DC. The addition of the program is not a total surprise, as job postings on Al Jazeera’s site indicated that it was looking to expand.

“The Stream will generate diverse and robust discussion that challenges both the viewers and guests,” said Ehab Al Shihabi, executive director for international operations for Al Jazeera and the senior executive developing AJAM, in a statement. “Its unique format will set the show apart with issues, guests and discussion that won’t be found anywhere else.”

Like the AJE version of the show, it will rely heavily on social media and audience interaction. A different version of the show will continue on AJE.

The original version of “The Stream” was hosted by Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who noted that when it first debuted, it was not exactly one of AJE’s signature shows (Shihab-Eldin is now a host at HuffPost Live, as we wrote about here). Of course, an Emmy nomination later, and things changed a bit:

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