CNBC anchor Erin Burnett hit the ground running as she reports from India this week. Shortly after landing in New Delhi, there were several explosions in Jaipur, about 150 miles away. Burnett reported on the attacks live by phone for Street Signs, the show she'd normally be anchoring. She's also scheduled for a cross-talk tonight on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Alissa Krinsky
TVNewser Contributor

CNBC's Dylan Ratigan anchors The Call, as well as the 3pm hour of Closing Bell. He also co-created and anchors Fast Money. Before joining CNBC, Ratigan was Global Managing Editor at Bloomberg News, where he hosted Morning Call on Bloomberg Television. Previously, Ratigan was a writer at Bloomberg News, and worked at ABC News and The Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Herald. He is a Union College graduate.

1. TVNewser: Overall, CNBC's ratings — as well as those for Fast Money — are up year-over-year in total viewers because...
Ratigan: ...CNBC has moved aggressively in its programming from early morning on to not only to deliver the news first and fast, but to explain why it matters and how to put it to use. This has happened at a time when we have a volatile economy, tangible fears of financial failure and the first Presidential election since 2000 where the economy is the lead issue. You put those powerful forces together with our aggressive steps toward analysis and utilization of the news you get higher ratings. Fast Money specifically benefits from all of those factors tremendously, not to mention our show's amazing staff and my hair.

2. TVNewser: The advent of Fox Business News has meant...
Ratigan: It has meant a complete overhaul of my daily routine. I would tell you things like now I get up earlier and work harder, except that would be a lie because I no longer go to bed in the first place. I am now solely fueled by pure competitive desire to the point where I no longer have any other earthly needs. Honestly, [Fox News Chairman and CEO] Roger Ailes does not want to share an elevator with me right now.

continued...

(pictured at the party for "Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power," are CNBC chief Washington correspondent John Harwood, CNBC SVP Jonathan Wald, CNBC president Mark Hoffman and executive Washington editor of the Wall Street Journal Gerald F. Seib, left to right)

A few hours after Brian Williams and Sen. Barack Obama left the building, CNBC held a book party at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. for the upcoming release of "Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power," by John Harwood and Gerald F. Seib.

Some TVNewsers in attendance included CNBC Washington correspondents Diana Olick and Hampton Pearson and Martha Raddatz of ABC News and Bloomberg's Al Hunt.

> More: FishbowlDC has many more photos from the event...

In addition to Tim Russert and "Magic Wall" creator Jeff Han, CNBC anchor Suze Orman made Time magazine's list of top 100 Most Influential People of the year.

The accompanying story about Orman is written by her colleague at the network, Donny Deutsch. Duetsch describes the "fantastic energy" that surrounds the "Money Lady," and the helpful financial role she plays:

The scene is always the same: people firing off money questions and Suze answering them with as much passion as a single human being can muster. She loves knowing that her advice will save people from getting deeper into financial trouble. That's her mission.

It was the #1 movie at the box office this weekend. In fact Iron Man's $100.8 million take gave it the second-highest grossing non-sequel opening ever.

And guess who has a cameo?

In a nutshell: Tony Stark (Iron Man) is the CEO of Stark Industries. He's essentially an arms dealer who, after being kidnapped in Middle East, gets out of the business. Gwyneth Paltrow's character 'Pepper' Potts is watching CNBC and "Mad Money" to get Cramer's take on Stark's stock, which drops more than 50 points on the news. In Cramer's scene, he pontificates on the stock and Stark, played by Robert Downey, Jr.

And in case you're wondering, Iron Man is a Paramount/Marvel production, and not from CNBC parent NBC Universal.

CNBC will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, with a one-hour special, "The Billionaire Next Door: All Access," airing Monday night at 9pmET.

CNBC's Becky Quick will be in Omaha, Nebraska for the shareholder meeting this weekend, with camera crews following Buffett inside the meeting for the first time ever. Quick will report on the meeting and the access beginning Monday morning on Squawk Box at 6amET. CNBC.com's Warren Buffett Watch site will blog updates throughout the weekend.

Monday night's special will also feature an exclusive interview with Buffett from the meeting.

• Earlier: FBN's weekend Buffett plans.

> More from an insider: CNBC does not have an exclusive with Buffett. He is giving FBN, Bloomberg and CNN interviews from the floor of the arena showroom area.

TVNewser obtained an internal memo from CNBC VP Jonathan Wald:

One of CNBC's originals is moving on. Ted David started here just a month before CNBC went on the air in 1989 and he has been a valued member of the staff ever since, most recently as the principal voice of CNBC Radio. Please join me in thanking Ted for his many years of service at CNBC. We wish him the best of luck in his retirement. Ted's last day on air will be May 2.

CNBC announced today registration is now open for the second "CNBC.com Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge." Contestants compete for a grand prize of $500,000 and various other cash payouts and weekly prizes ranging from Super Bowl tickets to a trip to Turks and Caicos.

Trading begins on May 12 on CNBC.com and lasts for 10 weeks. Contestants receives $900,000 CNBC Bucks to trade stocks with and $100,000 CNBC Bucks to trade currencies. Last year's winner, Mary Sue Williams, an Ohio waitress, had never previously bought a stock in her life.

The contest doesn't just benefit viewers — last year's contest nearly tripled CNBC.com's site traffic.

The things you learn about cable news hosts. CNBC's Jim Cramer is profiled in The Guardian today. Cramer talks about his Bear Stearns stunner, his ire for Ben Bernanke, and his own Stalin-like behavior when he ran his hedge fund. And there's this:

That chip on his shoulder may have been to do with a turbulent early career. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Florida and California before suffering a series of catastrophic mishaps in which his home was burgled and his bank account was emptied. In his autobiography, Cramer recounts being homeless for nine months and sleeping in a car in California with a gun for protection.

"I've been given a great thing which is an hour of national TV that I can use to affect people and make them interested in the market. I'm a kind of a televangelist for money," Cramer says.

The trades are buzzing today about a deal between NBC and Jimmy Fallon that would put the former SNLer in Conan O'Brien's chair after O'Brien moves west to take over The Tonight Show.

But that's not stopping CNBC's Dylan Ratigan from keeping that dream alive of hosting a late night talk show.

Here he is last night being funny on Last Call with Carson Daly. In the segment, Ratigan shows off his bright red shoes, a tribute to Pope Benedict XVI. So very last week, Dylan.