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.

MSNBC will broadcast live from The Essence Festival July 4 weekend. The channel is bringing a good chunk of its on-air talent to the festival, which celebrates African American culture and music.

Al Sharpton, Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Ed Schultz, Melissa Harris-Perry, Alex Wagner, Tamron Hall, Joy-Ann Reid, Toure, and Mara Schiavocampo will all be attendance, with live editions of many of their shows originating live from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

“As you know, MSNBC over the last few years has changed, and we are really making an effort to reflect this country in the 21st century, and I am not sure that there are many news and information outlets really doing that, I think most of them are stuck in the 20th century,” MSNBC president Phil Griffin said at an event to announce the partnership Thursday evening. “We are taking a huge team [to the festival], because this is so important to us. This fits with who we want to be, and what we are about.”

More information, after the jump.
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MSNBC’s ratings woes continued in May. The network dropped to fourth place among the cable news channels this month, hitting a six-year low in primetime and a four-year low in Total Day.

The ratings for May, 2013 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 539,000 Total Viewers / 175,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 346,000 Total Viewers / 115,000 A25-54

Compared to May 2012, MSNBC is down double digits across the board. In Total Day, the network is down -10% in Total Viewers (lowest since December 2007) and -7% in the A25-54 demographic (lowest since May 2007). In primetime, MSNBC is down -20% in Total Viewers (lowest since December 2009) and -19% in A25-54 viewers (lowest since October 2007).

At 8pmET, “All In with Chris Hayes” delivered the lowest ratings for MSNBC in the 8pmET timeslot since 2006. At 9pmET, “The Rachel Maddow Show” delivered the lowest ratings since 2008 in Total Viewers and since 2009 in the A25-54 demographic.

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The “Today” show had a backstage pass for last night’s TIME 100 gala in New York. Matt Lauer conducted interviews with the honorees and a segment aired this morning. Joining Vice President Joe Biden, Marissa Mayer, Jimmy Fallon, Claire Danes, Jimmy Kimmel, Sen. Rand Paul, Lena Dunham and Daniel Day-Lewis a the event were tvnewsers including CNN honcho Jeff Zucker, MSNBC boss Phil Griffin, Barbara Walters, Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell, Alex Wagner, Willie Geist and Alina Cho. By next year’s TIME 100, the magazine will likely be part of a new company, spun off from Time Warner, which Managing Editor Rick Stengel acknowledged in his speech, “An independent Time Inc. will show the power of great journalism, the power of great content to pay for itself.”

10 years ago, “Shock and Awe” kicked off the Iraq War. It was a made-for-TV war, with explosions rocking the skies above Baghdad, and correspondents reporting live on cable news from their hotel balconies.

TV news not only covered the war, but promoted it as well, regularly featuring guests who beat the war drum, and ignoring those that had opposing views. Sometimes, as The Huffington Post’s Jack Mirkinson notes, it was a vicious circle:

Perhaps the most notorious example of the Washington-media nexus over Iraq came when Dick Cheney appeared on “Meet the Press” in September of 2002. He cited the lead story in that morning’s Times as he talked to Tim Russert (“I want to attribute it to the Times,” he memorably said). The story, by Miller and her colleague Michael Gordon, said that Hussein was busy using aluminum tubes to help build nuclear weapons. The Bush administration had leaked that story to Miller. The circle was complete.

The war has not been forgotten. With the President making his first mideast trip of his second term, cable news is finding time to look back at Iraq. Throughout the week a number of segments about the war are on tap at the “big three” cable news channels, nestled in between the other day’s coverage.

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The NBC News Group, including NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, held an upfront presentation today at the New York Public library in midtown Manhattan. The Celeste Bartos Forum in the Library was lit up in shades of purple and blue, as media buyers and advertisers mingled with NBC News executives and talent.

Newly-minted MSNBC 8 PM host Chris Hayes was there, as was Matt Lauer, the co-anchor of “Today” who has been at the center of a number of news stories of late. He seemed to take the stories in stride, joking with Savannah Guthrie onstage:

“I would like to tackle what might be a teeny white elephant in the room,” Lauer said to laughter from the crowd. “We all love covering the news,  we hate being the news, and so I would like to say on that subject–from the bottom of my heart–that I promise to spend all of my time and energy over the next several months trying to keep Savannah out of the headlines. ”

We want to go back to the most-watched morning program and the least talked about morning program,” he added.

Lauer sat next to NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke during the lunch, and “Today” was the final NBC News property pitched during the presentation, emphasizing how important the show is to the network.

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ABC, CBS and NBC joined the cable news networks carrying Pres. Obama’s remarks and signing of 23 executive actions tightening gun laws. Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos anchored on ABC, Brian Williams on NBC, and Scott Pelley on CBS. Jon Scott and Jenna Lee anchored for Fox News, Wolf Blitzer on CNN, and Alex Wagner on MSNBC.

The president pointed out that passing legislation “will be difficult” and took a shot (excuse the pun) at those who would oppose the legislation to “gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue.”

“There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists, publicly warning of a tyrannical all-out assault on liberty. Not because that’s true. But because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves.”

2012 was a banner year for MSNBC, with the network seeing by far the most growth of all the cable news channels. The network placed second in both total and demo viewers in both primetime and total day.

The ratings for 2012:

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 905,000 total viewers / 287,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 497,000 total viewers / 166,000 A25-54

MSNBC’s programming was up double digits across the board in both total and demo viewers in 2012, spanning the mornings, daytime and primetime. At 9 PM Rachel Maddow was up +36% in total viewers and +21% in the demo compared to 2011, while 10 PM’s “The Last Word” was up +21% and +19%, respectively. The weakest performer was 8 PM’s “The Ed Show,” which was still up +9% in total and demo viewers from 2011.

MSNBC’s dayside programming was also up big from 2011. At 12 PM “Now with Alex Wagner” was up +30% in total viewers and +29% in the demo, while the 3 PM hour, which featured both Martin Bashir and “The Cycle,” was up +39% in total viewers and +23% in the demo.

In the mornings, “Morning Joe” was up +2% in total viewers, and up +10% in the demo, delivering its best total viewership ever.

MSNBC’s release is after the jump.

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• NBC’s primetime newsmagazine “Rock Center” is once again moving to a new timeslot. Starting January 31, 2013, “Rock Center” will vacate Thursdays at 10 PM to make room for drama “Do No Harm,” and will move to Fridays at 10 PM February 8.

• Fox Business anchor Liz Claman is being honored as a “woman to watch” by Jewish Women International. Her colleagues, including Bret Baier, are expected to attend the ceremony Monday in Washington.

• Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein is now an MSNBC contributor. Host Alex Wagner confirmed the news on Twitter, after introducing him as such during her noon program.

• CNN is trying to one-up NBC in the “let’s project electoral votes on buildings” contest. CNN will power lights showing Obama and Romney’s electoral totals on the Empire State Building. You can see a photo of the spire as it will look tonight here. Unlike 30 Rock, The Empire State Building wont have any CNN branding.

• FBN is promoting its election coverage in the heart of New York finance. Yesterday Charlie Gasparino rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, while today Liz Claman will ring the NASDAQ closing bell, and will anchor her show from its MarketSite in Times Square.

• MSNBC’s Chris Matthews took over a segment on “Now with Alex Wagner” today on NBC’s set in Rockefeller Center (sorry, “Democracy Plaza“), taking the opportunity to chastise anyone who doesn’t vote, or doesn’t vote for a Democrat or Republican

WATCH:

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