FishbowlNY’s Diane Clehane was at her usual Wednesday perch at Michael’s Restaurant where media types do lunch. And it was an interesting mix of TV news talent and execs. Including table 5:

5. CNBC’s Joe Kernen, who upon arrival bellowed, “Is Welch here yet? ” Minutes later, Jack Welch‘s appearance was a lot quieter but turned a lot more heads.

But Welch wasn’t the only chairman in the house. Fox News’s top man Roger Ailes pulled up a chair at table 4…

Read more

MLB.com’s At Bat application for mobile devices is getting an Opening Day update today.

There are a number of improvements to the iPad, iPhone and Android versions of the app, and include added functionality and new features.

Some of the biggest features are free MLB.tv access for the month of April, sponsored by Volvo, allowing users to watch any out-of-market MLB game on their device live.

Key plays and pivotal moments, as well as live look-ins to games, all blackout-free.

Archives games, letting users see any 2011 game on-demand.

In addition, the iPad app gets a redesigned Gameday pitch-by-pitch look, with images of every ballpark now used for the screen instead of a generic stadium. The images are from the video game MLB ’11 The Show

On the iPhone and Android apps, check-in functionality with venue information has been added to the app, giving users bonus features when they check-in at the ballpark.

More information in MLB.com’s press release, after the jump.

Read more

CNN was awarded a prestigious Peabody Award this morning for its comprehensive coverage of the Gulf Oil spill. The 16-member Peabody committee wrote, CNN’s coverage “encompassed every impact from economic to environmental to political.” C-Span’s new Video Library — a free, searchable website uploaded with every program the public-affairs channel has televised since 1987 — was honored with a Peabody “for its contribution to history, scholarship and public life.” The 30 for 30 documentaries commissioned by ESPN for it 30th anniversary won a Peabody for “commendable depth, breadth and insight” of sports coverage.

TVSpy has the list of winners from local TV stations, including WFAA in Dallas/Ft. Worth and KSTP in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Former CNN host Larry King is the emcee of this year’s awards, which will be presented May 23 at the Waldorf-Astoria.

It is Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, and we have the iPad loaded with MLB.com’s At Bat app ready to go here in the SportsNewser office.

Which games are you watching? And what channels are you watching them on? Let us know about your baseball-related sports media thoughts in the comments.

Below, check out ESPN’s lineup of Opening Day games today

1 p.m. Detroit at N.Y. Yankees
4 p.m. San Diego at St. Louis
8 p.m. San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers

ABC’s “Good Morning America” is adding a new senior producer to its ranks, just days after announcing a new newsreader.

Ethan Nelson is joining “GMA” as senior broadcast producer. Nelson joins “GMA” following the announcement that ESPN’s Josh Elliot and “The Insider”‘s Lara Spencer would be joining the program as newsreader and lifestyle anchor, respectively. The moves come after James Goldston assumed senior EP duties on the program in February. Tom Cibrowski is still EP of “GMA.”

Nelson had been a producer for HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” where he worked closely with the former “Today” and “Early Show” anchor.

“Almost everything is live,” John Stossel tells People of anchoring “Stossel” at Fox Business Network, which he joined in the fall of 2009. “I had to face it.”

“It” refers to Stossel’s stuttering, which he discusses in the magazine’s April 11 issue (no link available).

Stossel moved to FBN after serving as co-anchor of ABC’s “20/20″, under a contract that ensured he would not have to do live broadcasting. 

With his new job, ”I decided  it was time for me to face my fears and, if necessary, just stutter away. The happiest stutterers, I learned, are those who are willing to stutter in front of others.”

Stossel says he still must work at battling the speech impediment, utilizing breathing and speaking techniques.

“The practice is thunderously boring,” he says, “but you really have to do it. My career was on the line.”

> Earlier on TVNewser: John Stossel Takes On Hollywood, ‘The King’s Speech’

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 357 | MSNBC: 149 | CNN: 212 | HLN: 92

• Primetime: FNC: 567 | MSNBC: 305 | CNN: 270 | HLN: 118

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:	12a:
FNC	Beck:	Baier:	Shep:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:	Greta:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:
	525	507	443	752	568	382	431	358
MSNBC	Matthews:	Cenk:	Matthews:	O’Donnell:	Maddow:	EdShow:	Jansing/Engel:	Maddow:
	124	94	205	291	328	291	188	166
CNN	Blitzer:	Blitzer:	KingUSA:	IntheArena:	Morgan:	Cooper:	Cooper:	Morgan:
	209	220	188	230	209	370	270	187
HLN	Showbiz:	Prime:	Issues:	Grace:	Missing:	Behar:	Showbiz:	Grace:
	55	48	96	184	88	90	97	132

Read more

ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose released a statement Wednesday regarding his March 11 DUI arrest:

“On March 11th, I was driving to my home when I was involved in a single vehicle automobile accident. I voluntarily submitted to blood alcohol screening because I was confident it was safe for me to drive. Although I was not feeling impaired, the results of these tests indicate that my blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. I regret the decision to drive home that evening and am grateful that no one was hurt in the accident. I apologize to my family, my employer and each and every one of my supporters for my lapse in judgment. I am particularly sorry for disappointing those who trust me to serve as a role model for young people. I accept full responsibility for my actions and look forward to a resolution of the legal matter as soon as possible.”

ESPN filed a lawsuit against Conference USA in Manhattan federal court Wednesday. The network claims the conference did not fulfill its contractual obligations, according to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily.

The lawsuit claims that ESPN and C-USA reached an agreement in principal and the conference never gave the network a final offer. C-USA sold their television rights to Fox Sports in January. Their agreement is scheduled to begin with the 2011 college football season and run through the 2015-16 athletic year. Read more

“60 Minutes” viewers have opened up their wallets following two recent stories by correspondent Scott Pelley.

Since his story Sunday featuring Elissa Montanti, a Staten Island woman who has helped provide medical care for children maimed in international war zones, more than $300,000 has come in. And we’re told Montanti hasn’t even opened the snail mail which will no doubt include checks from individuals who want to help.

And since Pelley reported on homeless kids in Florida earlier this month, the Orlando Sentinel reports donations have come in — ranging from a $5.6 million pledge from the First Baptist Church of Orlando to a child who mailed $6 and a letter to “60 Minutes” explaining he sold his comic books to help the kids.