20 hours after the Senate voted for a bill to keep the U.S. from taking a full plunge off the fiscal cliff, the House passed the package. But during those 20 hours, it was a day of “will they?” or “won’t they vote?” on the cable news channels, which, as this being New Year’s Day, had skeleton staffs.

Earlier in the evening, as it became clear the House would indeed vote, the networks went into overdrive. Bret Baier anchored extended coverage on Fox News pre-empting O’Reilly and Hannity specials. Wolf Blitzer was in for Piers Morgan and Ali Velshi for Erin Burnett on CNN while Anderson Cooper anchored his shows at 8 and 10pmET and Richard Lui interrupted what was to be a night of “Lockup” for MSNBC’s extended coverage. Fox Business Network and Bloomberg went into full coverage as the House vote neared. All the networks’ chief Congressional and White House correspondents have been on the beat nearly non-stop for days.

The president came to a sparsely filled press briefing room at 11:20pm speaking for 7 minutes and taking no questions: “Hopefully in the New Year we can focus on putting a package like this together, with a little less drama, a little less brinkmanship and not scare the heck out of folks.”

In the aftermath of Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, New York‘s Gabe Sherman reports that Fox News producers were instructed this weekend not to wade into the politics of gun control on the air:

According to sources, David Clark, the executive producer in charge of Fox’s weekend coverage, gave producers instructions not to talk about gun-control policy on air. “This network is not going there,” Clark wrote one producer on Saturday night, according to a source with knowledge of the exchange. The directive created a rift inside the network. According to a source, one political panelist e-mailed Clark that Bloomberg was booked on Meet the Press to talk about gun control. Clark responded, “We haven’t buried the children yet, we’re not discussing it.” During the weekend, one frustrated producer went around Clark to lobby Michael Clemente, Fox’s executive vice-president for news editorial, but Clemente upheld the mandate. “We were expressly forbidden from discussing gun control,” the source said.

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News insiders say Clark’s email has been taken “wildly out of context”:

A cursory look at the programming that Fox News aired over the weekend indicates that gun-control was a topic at least five times, including a lengthy discussion between host Chris Wallace and a Democratic lawmaker followed by Wallace with a Republican lawmaker.

And sources say the initial email from Clark was not the network-wide edict it has been portrayed as, but an email to three people concerning a panel discussion on one show.

The initial email from Clark to three panelists reads: “Gentlemen, it is too soon to talk the politics of gun control. The victims’ families still don’t even have the bodies of their loved ones. Let’s leave it for another time. Thanks.”

In addition to two “Fox News Sunday” segments, gun control was discussed on “Fox & Friends” and a Sunday night special report, anchored by Bret Baier, over the weekend. The “FNS” panel discussion is after the jump. Read more

Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier” is planning a weeklong series on the Fiscal Cliff this week. While the shooting in Newtown will rightly be the big news story, the upcoming fiscal deadline is not lost on any journalists.

Each day this week, “Special Report” will examine one issue related to the fiscal crisis.

Monday will see an overview of how the federal government’s spending is disbursed throughout its programs (i.e. entitlement programs, the military discretionary spending, etc.) Tuesday will focus on Debt and the Deficit. Wednesday will take a critical look at Congress action (and inaction). Thursday will look at the potential, long-term economic effects and overall mood of the country if there is no decrease in government spending. Friday will bring an analysis of the potential solutions to the problem.

The series starts on “Special Report” at 6 PM today, and runs all week.

Coverage of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, will continue into Sunday on the broadcast and cable networks.

On CNN, Candy Crowley will anchor “State of the Union” from Newtown. Don Lemon, Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper will anchor from Newtown Sunday, and the network will air a weekday primetime schedule. Fox News will again have an expanded edition of “Fox & Friends” beginning at 6amET Sunday, and MSNBC will have live programming until 6pmET. HLN will cover the shooting beginning at 7amET and going through 1pmET.

On the broadcast networks, the shooting will be the main topic of the Sunday public affairs shows. Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CBS’ “Face the Nation” and ABC’s “This Week.”

On CBS, Jeff Glor will anchor “CBS Evening News” from Newtown. “CBS Sunday Morning” will also feature three segments on the shooting.

ABC’s Dan Harris, Amy Robach, and Lara Spencer will anchor “Good Morning America” from Newtown. David Muir will also anchor “World News” from the location of the shooting.

We’ll continue to update this post as the networks set coverage plans.

>Update: The cable networks have added Sunday night programming to cover President Obama’s visit to Newtown:

Fox News will air a two-hour special anchored by Bret Baier at 6pmET. Baier will be joined by Molly Line and Mike Tobin from Newtown, as well as chief White House correspondent Ed Henry.

MSNBC will be live through 9pmET with coverage of Obama’s visit.

On CNN, Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett will anchor a three-hour special from Newtown beginning at 6pmET.

>More: ABC News will also broadcast a special report during Obama’s remarks at the vigil, anchored by George Stephanopoulos and Diane Sawyer.  Muir will contribute from Newtown. NBC News will also have a special report anchored by Lester Holt in Newtown.

Five-year old Paul Baier, the son of Fox News anchor Bret Baier, is  resting comfortably after undergoing his seventh angioplasty. Our sister blog FishbowlDC has more. It was only a year ago that the younger Baier had surgery number five.

Paul was born with a congenital heart condition since he was born, and had his first surgery just 12 days after he was born. The Baiers have become advocates for helping children with medical conditions, and supporting the hospitals that do the good work.

Now, Paul is resting, comfortably, with a little help from his dad, and technology:

Paul is not supposed to move his legs for 6 hrs after waking up- HE’S 5! Good thing we loaded the iPad!@childrenshealth has been great

— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) December 12, 2012

Karl Rove was back on Fox News last night appearing on “Special Report with Bret Baier.” It was Rove’s first appearance on the channel in 27 days. Last week, New York Magazine reported that Rove and Dick Morris had been benched. Fox News confirmed the lack of appearances was to send the message “the election is over.”

Rove was on with his election night partner Joe Trippi.  Said Baier: “We thought it worked in the electoral map. We thought: ‘the fiscal cliff, get them in a room and try to solve this thing.’ Gentleman, welcome back.”

New York Mag’s Frank Rich apparently didn’t see the segment. A few hours later, as guest on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Rich was talking about the Rupert Murdoch empire (which also came up later on “The Colbert Report” — video below) and said of Rove, “he’s been benched at the moment at Fox News.”

According to the always well-sourced Gabriel Sherman in New York Magazine, Fox News has benched analysts Karl Rove and Dick Morris now that the election is over, requiring producers to get permission before bringing them on the show.

The reason for the benching? Rove’s now-infamous on-air battle with anchors Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier, which made for great TV, although at the expense of some FNC staffers, and the heat Morris has taken for essentially admitting that he was not being honest in some FNC appearances.

Both pundits made several appearances in the days after the election, but their visibility on the network has dropped markedly. Inside Fox News, Morris’s Romney boosterism and reality-denying predictions became a punch line. At a rehearsal on the Saturday before the election, according to a source, anchor Megyn Kelly chuckled when she relayed to colleagues what someone had told her: “I really like Dick Morris. He’s always wrong but he makes me feel good.”

A Fox spokesperson confirmed the new booking rules for Rove and Morris, and explained that Shine’s message was “the election’s over.”

• 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.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier offers a candid look at his recent weight loss in the Washington Post. Baier, who says he looked “pleasantly plump” on the air before embarking on a diet and fitness overhaul, has lost more than 40 pounds since August:

On Tuesday night, when he co-anchors Fox News’s election night coverage alongside the always-svelte anchor Megyn Kelly, he’ll announce political victory while privately celebrating a personal one. He now weighs less than 200 pounds, on track to have lost 45 pounds in three months. And he embarked on this weight-loss challenge in the final throes of campaign season, when traveling political reporters typically pack on the pounds thanks to deep-fried county-fair food, pizza binges and late-night restaurant fare. Because of his new physique, he’s having many of his Hickey Freeman suits taken in. He’s lost more than five inches in his waist alone.

“I feel proud of this guy,” says Baier, pointing to a recent image of his slimmed-down self. “But I do think, ‘Wow, I spent a long time as this other guy.’ How could I stay like this for so long?”

On FoxNews.com, Bret Baier has an op-ed taking aim at the venerable CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” for withholding a question it posed to President Obama the day after the attack in Libya. There was a question from the interview that never made it to air September 12, and was only posted on the “60 Minutes” website over the weekend. The key excerpt is below:

KROFT: Mr. President, this morning you went out of your way to avoid the use of the word terrorism in connection with the Libya Attack, do you believe that this was a terrorism attack?

OBAMA: Well it’s too early to tell exactly how this came about, what group was involved, but obviously it was an attack on Americans. And we are going to be working with the Libyan government to make sure that we bring these folks to justice, one way or the other.

Baier asks:

Why did CBS release a clip that appeared to back up Obama’s claim in the second debate on Oct. 19, a few days before the foreign policy debate, and not release the rest of that interview at the beginning?

Read more