The Committee to Protect Journalists is adding its voice of concern about the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into Fox News correspondent James Rosen.

“U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.

On Sunday, the Washington Post reported on an affidavit that described Rosen as “an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” in a 2010 DOJ investigation into the leak of classified information regarding North Korea. The Justice Department tracked Rosen’s State Department comings and goings through his security badge and also tapped into his personal email and phone records.

Fox News told TVNewser yesterday they will “unequivocally defend [Rosen's] right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press.”

The broadcast networks are planning to give their news organizations extra space tonight to update viewers on the aftermath of the devastating tornado that ripped through a suburb of Oklahoma City. In addition to expanded evening newscasts, NBC and ABC will have dedicated programming to coverage of the devastation and recovery.

NBC: NBC News will have a special from 8-9 PM live from Oklahoma, anchored by Brian Williams. Lester Holt, Ann Curry, Harry Smith and Kate Snow will be among the contributors. “NBC Nightly News” will also offer an hour-long newscast to affiliates this evening.

CBS: CBS News will not have a primetime special, however Scott Pelley will host a special edition of the “CBS Evening News” from 6:30 PM until 8 PM, offered to affiliates.

ABC: ABC News will be offering a one hour edition of “ABC World News” to affiliates. Diane Sawyer will be in New York, with David Muir in Moore. In addition at 12:35 AM “Nightline” will be special edition dedicated to Oklahoma.

Also: Muir, Ginger Zee and Mike Boettcher will reportfrom Oklahoma this afternoon on “Katie.”

The “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley” was the only evening newscast to grow compared to the same week last year. The 3rd ranked show was up +5% in total viewers cutting the gap with #2 “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” nearly in half. Last year the viewership gap between the two shows was 1.65 million. Last week it was 881,000.

Sawyer’s newscast was down -7% in viewers and down -9% in the demo. No. 1 “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” was flat in viewership and down -6% in the demo. Pelley’s broadcast, too, was down in the demo, losing 2% of its audience compared to last year.

Numbers for the week of May 13, 2013:

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The Department of Justice says that it is unlikely to bring charges against Fox News correspondent James Rosen, who had his email searched by the FBI in relation to a leak investigation.

A warrant was executed against Rosen’s email, accusing him of being a “co-conspirator” to the individual accused of leaking information related to North Korea.

The implication that Rosen was complicit, as well as the apparent breach of a free press, drew a sharply worded critique from Fox News yesterday.

The Washington Post has more on the DOJ decision:

In response to questions about how Rosen was characterized in the affidavit, the Justice Department said in a statement Monday: “Saying that there is probable cause to believe that someone has committed a crime and charging the person with that crime are two different things.”

“No reporter has been charged in this case,” the statement added. “And, at this time we do not anticipate bringing additional charges against anyone.”

When an extraordinary event takes place, there is always some extraordinary television coverage that follows. Here are some of the highlights from this morning’s coverage.

NBC’s “Today” reunited a teacher with one of the students she helped save:

“CBS This Morning” put together a montage featuring the raw sights and sounds form the tornado, including a woman finding her missing dog live on camera:

ABC’s “Good Morning America” interviewed two of the teachers who helped save students at one of the elementary schools:

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President Obama is scheduled to comment on the disaster in Oklahoma at 10 AM and it is likely that all of the broadcast networks will break into regular programming to cover it.  ”CBS This Morning” went into the 9 AM hour to cover the fallout. We hear that “CTM” will stay live until 12 PM on the east coast covering the damage, and 10 AM pacific.

Update: “Our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today,” Obama said. “Oklahoma needs to get everything that it needs right away.”

“If there is hope to hold onto, not just in Oklahoma but around the country, it is the knowledge that the good people there in Oklahoma are more prepared than most, and what they can be certain about is that Americans around the country will be right there with them,” he added.

Meanwhile, the news channels are sending their A-teams to Oklahoma to cover the fallout from the tornado.

As we noted yesterday, NBC has Brian Williams,  Lester Holt, Ann Curry, Harry Smith, Kate Snow, Anne Thompson and Dr. Nancy Snyderman in Oklahoma, as well as the Weather Channel team of Jim Cantore, Mike Bettes, and Mike Seidel.

ABC News has Sam Champion, Ginger Zee, David Muir and Alex Perez in Oklahoma. Byron Pitts, Mike Boettcher, and Cecilia Vega are also either in Moore or en route.

CBS has Norah O’Donnell anchoring from Moore, and Anna Werner on the ground, and Scott Pelley will anchor the “CBS Evening News” there this evening.
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CNN has named Indra Petersons as its new weather anchor and correspondent. Petersons will primarily contribute to “New Day” with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira which begins June 17, but will also appear across all CNN shows and platforms. With the devastating tornado in Oklahoma, Petersons is starting her field work early for CNN, and will be reporting from Moore this week.

Petersons joins CNN from KABC Los Angeles, where she was a meteorologist and general assignment reporter. Before KABC she worked at KEYT Santa Barbara and KVIA El Paso, also as a meteorologist.

She is effectively replacing Rob Marciano, who left as CNN’s weather anchor in November of 2012 to become the co-anchor of “Entertainment Tonight.”

A massive tornado–as wide as two-miles–ripped through a suburb of Oklahoma City this afternoon. Cable news channels picked up the tornado as it barreled through the city, while video of the aftermath spurred special coverage.

All three cable news channels went wall-to-wall with coverage, with Fox News forgoing the politics-centric “The Five” to have Shepard Smith deliver special coverage (video of Shep here). CNN stayed with “The Lead” and “The Situation Room,” while MSNBC kept special coverage going straight through the beginning of “Hardball.”

Our sister blog TVSpy has more information from the local TV coverage.

Update: TV networks are beginning to send teams to Oklahoma City. We will update as we get them. CBS actually had a correspondent (Anna Werner) in Moore, OK in time for the 6:30 evening newscast (video here).

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“Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts received a standing ovation as she accepted her George Foster Peabody Award Monday. Roberts is the first journalist since Walter Cronkite to get a standing ovation at the awards lunch, held annually at the Waldorf Astoria.

Roberts, pictured here with ABC News president Ben Sherwood, was honored for reports on her bone marrow transplant, which successfully raised awareness for Be the Match, an organization that registers potential bone marrow donors.

“As journalists we want to cover stories that cause a reaction that leads to action,” Roberts said in her speech. “We had no idea chronicling my journey would cause such a catalyst for action … many becoming bone marrow donors.”

Scott Pelley emceed the event. CBS News, PBS and CNN were among this year’s other winners.

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 264 | MSNBC: 125 | CNN: 122 | HLN: 155

• Primetime: FNC: 299 | MSNBC: 171 | CNN: 133 | HLN: 148

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