CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” has a pair of big interviews tonight. Former President George W. Bush, who has only given a handful of interviews since leaving office, will be a guest on the program

Update: Bush will not be in-studio, but will be appearing in the “Keeping America Great” segment, which is set in the field. He will be talking about mountain biking, veterans, etc, so don’t expect any blockbuster revelations.

In addition, CNN founder Ted Turner–who has had some harsh things to say about the network he once ran–will also be appearing.

Interestingly, Bush is on just a few days after former CBS News anchor Dan Rather appeared on the show, where he stood by the claims he made on the network regarding Bush’s Texas Air National Guard service. That story led to Rather’s departure from CBS.

It should make for some interesting TV.

Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather is still standing by the story that ended his decades-long tenure at CBS News.

In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” to promote his new book Rather Outspoken, Rather maintained that the story he reported on “60 Minutes” about Former president George W. Bush‘s Texas Air National Guard service was true.

• Related | Dan Rather: My First Big Break

“My attitude is, sometimes things in journalism go bad, but is is important not to get baffled, not to be afraid and never to quit,” Rather said. “Because of that story, they put heavy pressure on the corporate entity, and the corporate entity folded.”

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Texas Monthly has a very long and thoroughly researched report detailing the story behind former President George W. Bush‘s Texas Air National Guard service, and the fallout it had for Dan Rather and CBS News.

Most of the story examined Bush’s Air National Guard record, and tries to figure how the forged documents came to be at CBS, while also examining the real story behind them. It also details some of the behind-the-scenes machinations at work at CBS before the now-infamous “60 Minutes” report aired.

The morning before the broadcast was scheduled to air, CBS showed the memos to the White House for a response. Dan Bartlett was the network’s contact. Before Bartlett was interviewed, he emailed copies of the memos to Albert Lloyd, Bush’s longtime National Guard expert. In an interview in 2008, Lloyd told me he immediately recognized them as forgeries: “I looked at them and I said, ‘Don’t do a damned thing with these, because these are fake.’ ”

Bartlett, however, appears to have ignored Lloyd’s assessment. When asked by CBS whether he doubted the authenticity of the memos, Bartlett replied, “I’m not saying that at all,” adding that he only questioned the timing of their release. His interpretation of the memos, in fact, was that they “reaffirm what we’ve said all along.”

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Hard to imagine, but there have only been five anchors of the “CBS Evening News” (six if you count the pairing of Dan Rather and Connie Chung). And it was 50 years ago today, that the original went on the air. “Walter Cronkite with the News” debuted on April 16, 1962 as a 15-minute newscast.

As Bob Schieffer explained on “Face the Nation” Sunday, the show expanded to a half hour in 1963 and became known as the “CBS Evening News.”

“Over the years, I have been asked many times, ‘what was he really like?’” said Schieffer who anchored “Evening News” in 2005-2006. “I always reply, ‘he was off camera exactly the way he was on camera.’ There are not many of those, but he was just the way you would want him to be.”

I admit it – I always had a soft spot for Mike Wallace.

Not the on-camera Wallace, who in his glory days as “60 Minutes’’ chief inquisitor struck fear into the hearts of evil-doers, large and small; but the real Wallace, who died Saturday, a month before his 94th birthday.

I think he had a soft spot for me, too. Not once during 30 years’ of interviews did he lose his legendary temper or make a cutting remark or dodge a question. More than a few times, he returned deadline calls from aboard an airplane — a big deal back in the day.

My favorite interview took place in his CBS office in New York in 1984, shortly before the infamous Westmoreland libel trial. Wallace was a defendant and key witness in the $120 million suit, filed by Gen. William Westmoreland for a 1982 CBS documentary that claimed he had deliberately misrepresented enemy troop strength.

It was a horrible time for Wallace, then 66 and in his 16th season with “60 Minutes.” The trial was weighing heavy on his mind, and his third marriage was on the rocks. Still, he didn’t hesitate when I asked him, on sheer whim, what he usually ate for breakfast.

Two pieces of whole-wheat toast and a vitamin, he said. And, like his father before him, a cup of hot water and lemon … “for the kaboom.”

At that moment, Myron Leon Wallace, the son of Russian immigrants, could have been my father.

The Westmoreland trial lasted 18 weeks. It was settled out of court in February 1985, just days before it was to have gone to the jury. Wallace, scheduled as a defense witness, had not testified.

I couldn’t think of Wallace without thinking of Don Hewitt, the late “60 Minutes” creator and executive producer. He and Wallace, an original “60″ correspondent from 1968, were infamous for their high-decibel office battles. I dubbed them the Sunshine Boys.

I was on the phone with Wallace once when Hewitt grabbed the receiver from his hands and said, “You should be talking to me instead of Mike. I’m much more interesting.” Chuckling, I told him to shut his pie hole and to put Wallace back on the phone. He did.

Wallace and Hewitt “were legendary for their quarrels,” former CBS News president Andrew Heyward recalled yesterday. “Mike was quick to raise his voice, as was Don. They always

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Following news of Mike Wallace‘s death, remembrances and tributes have poured in.

“It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Mike Wallace,” said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO, CBS Corporation in a statement. “His extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster is immeasurable and he has been a force within the television industry throughout its existence. His loss will be felt by all of us at CBS.”

Morley Safer and Bob Schieffer shared their thoughts this morning on CBS:

Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather:

“Mike Wallace was from from the beginning and for many years the heart and soul of ’60 Minutes.’ In that role, he helped change American television news. Among the ways that this change was for the better: TV news became more investigative, more aggressive and relevant. Mike was sharp and quick of mind, a fierce competitor and a master interviewer.”

Fox News chairman & CEO Roger Ailes said in a statement:

“Mike Wallace was one of the premier journalists of our time — his legendary tenacity, passion for the truth and unwavering commitment to fairness will always be admired and remembered. He will remain in the pantheon of greats in broadcasting journalism. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and the entire Wallace family.”

From “ABC World News” anchor Diane Sawyer:

“Mike’s energy and nerve paced everyone at ’60 Minutes.’ His was the defining spirit of the show. He bounded through the halls with joy at the prospect of the new, the true, the unexpected.”

From NBC News president Steve Capus:

“Mike Wallace was a gifted, tenacious reporter who set the gold standard in investigative reporting. His unique style compelled you to sit forward and take notice of everything he put on the air. Towards the end of his career, my wife Sophia and I had the chance to get to know the man behind the legend. We enjoyed Mike’s good company and his stories of a remarkable life. He will be missed. Our condolences to his family.”

We will add more as we get them.

MSNBC hosted a party at Manhattan’s Ace Hotel last night in celebration of Rachel Maddow‘s first book, Drift, which tops the New York Times Best Sellers list this week.

“When we gave [Rachel] a show on September 9, 2008, we had never, ever won at 9 o’clock,” MNSBC president Phil Griffin (pictured here with Maddow and NBC News president Steve Capus) said during his toast. “Larry King was an icon — never, in our 12-year history. Rachel goes in there, she beat Larry the first day, the first month, the first year, the second year, the third year. And now, this is her first book, and boom! Number one.”

Maddow, who arrived at the event late because the taping of her primetime show ran over, said she could not have written “a real book, and not a collection of cable news observations,” without support and resources from MSNBC.

“I don’t exactly know why I deserve to have an employer this supportive of something like this, but I am very, very, very thankful. Also, they paid for this [party],” she joked.

Maddow, a cocktail buff, hand-picked the party’s drink — a “French 75,” which she said is named after a French artillery piece. TVNewser spotted Chris Hayes and Alex Wagner and in the crowd, as well as Dan Rather, Gail Collins, Sandra Bernhard and Andre Leon Talley.

More pictures after the jump.

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In the latest episode of mediabistroTV’s “My First Big Break,” we speak to HDNet “Dan Rather Reports” anchor and former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather. Did you know that if it weren’t for a hurricane that struck near Galveston, Texas, he might never have had his shot at working in network news? That among other things, he had to deal with thousands of snakes in order to report on the story? That he helped create a weather-reporting graphic that has become ubiquitous on TV news? Below, Rather talks about the event that brought him to the attention of CBS in New York, and changed his professional life.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

On the next installment of the mediabistroTV series “My First Big Break” (Look for it Thursday afternoon!), we speak to HDNet’s “Dan Rather Reports” anchor and former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather about the moment that brought him to national attention. In the preview below, Rather talks about the challenges of getting a break in today’s crowded media marketplace.

Primary season continues as voters head to the polls in Florida today, and the broadcast and cable networks have scheduled special coverage for the election results tonight.

CNN’s coverage, hosted by Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and John King, kicks off at 7pmET. Cooper will host a live “AC360″ at 10pmET, followed by a live “Piers Morgan Tonight” at midnight.

On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow will anchor coverage beginning at 6pmET. She will be joined by Chris Matthews, who will host “Hardball” from Miami today, Al Sharpton, Ed Schultz and Lawrence O’Donnell.

Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier are at the anchor desk on Fox News from 8-11pmET. Sean Hannity takes over at 11pm, followed by a live “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” at midnight.

The broadcast networks will offer special reports as the results come in. Brian Williams will anchor on NBC. Scott Pelley will anchor from Florida on CBS. On ABC, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will anchor special reports together. On PBS, “NewsHour” will broadcast a live primary special at 11pmET, co-anchored by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff.

Elsewhere on cable:

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