HLN is coming off of a number of record-breaking months in terms of viewership, bolstered by coverage of the Jodi Arias trial, which culminated with last week’s guilty verdict. In a memo to staff this afternoon obtained by TVNewser, HLN executive VP Scot Safon  congratulated the team on their work, and previewed what HLN has coming down the pipeline.

Among the changes: “HLN After Dark” will become a full-time member of HLN’s nightly lineup, where it will focus “on stories (trials and otherwise) in the ‘court of public opinion,’” according to Safon’s note.  The channel is also gearing up for its next big trial, that of George Zimmerman, which begins June 10th, and the Daytime Emmy Awards on June 16th. There are also Nancy Grace, Dr. Drew Pinsky and Jane Velez-Mitchell specials in the works.

Read Safon’s full note to HLN staff, below.
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Several television news journalists have landed on Reader’s Digest list of “The 100 Most Trusted People in America.” At #12, “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts is the most-trusted television news personality on the list.

In addition to Roberts, the morning shows are well represented: “GMA” anchor George Stephanopoulos is #57, while “Today” show co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer are #85 and #97, respectively.

The three evening news anchors make the list –ABC’s Diane Sawyer at #25, NBC’s Brian Williams at #29 and CBS’ Scott Pelley at #63. ABC’s Barbara Walters (#34), Katie Couric (#37) and Christiane Amanpour (#56) are also among the most trusted.

From the cable news landscape, CNN’s Sanjay Gupta is #17 and  Anderson Cooper is #50. HLN’s Dr. Drew Pinsky is #90 and Fox News anchor Shepard Smith rounds out the list at #100.

The Jodi Arias trial continued to boost HLN’s ratings this month, with the network showing double digit growth in both Total Day and primetime. HLN placed fourth among the cable news networks in primetime and among Total Viewers in Total Day, but edged MSNBC to be third among A25-54 viewers in Total Day.

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

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 524,000 Total Viewers / 177,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 390,000 Total Viewers / 142,000 A25-54

Compared to the same month last year, HLN is up +52% in Total Viewers and +43% in A25-54 viewers in Total Day. In Primetime, the network is up +40% and +37%, respectively. During the 9am-5pm daytime programming, HLN had triple digit growth across the board, up +146% in Total Viewers and +107% in the demographic.

Early afternoon program was up significantly compared to the same week last year. The 3pm-6pmET hours were all up triple digits in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers. The 3pmET hour of “HLN News” was up the most, +315% in Total Viewers and +290% in A25-54 viewers.

The network’s primetime programming was also up across the board this month. “Nancy Grace” was up +50% in Total Viewers and +38% in A25-54 viewers, and Dr. Drew Pinsky‘s program was up +105% and +97%, respectively. “After Dark,” launched last month for the Arias trial, is up +58% and +55% compared to April 2012, when a re-air of Grace’s program aired in the 10pmET timeslot.

HLN’s release is after the jump. Read more

The obsession with the Jodi Arias trial continues. This week, HLN will premiere “After Dark: The Jodi Arias Trial,” a nightly show with a live studio audience. The program premieres Wednesday and will run Monday-Thursday for the duration of the trial.

The program launch comes on the heels of Turner Broadcasting’s TruTV scaling In Session coverage back to two hours a day, a move which has sparked criticism in the middle of the Arias trial. HLN anchor Vinnie Politan will anchor the show and In Session on TruTV correspondents Jean Casarez and Beth Karas will contribute.

Politan will be joined by HLN’s Nancy Grace, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Ryan Smith and Drew Pinsky, who will weigh the accusations and evidence of the day. The 12-person audience will act as “jurors” and will render a verdict each night.

It was a mixed bag for HLN during the month of February. The network was flat in Total Day compared to the same month last year. In primetime, HLN declined among Total Viewers but improved among younger viewers.

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

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 389,000 Total Viewers / 140,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 281,000 Total Viewers / 106,000 A25-54

Compared to the same month last year, HLN was down -1% in Total Viewers and flat in the A25-54 demographic in Total Day. (Note: percentages are based on a blend of Live +7 and Live +3 data.) In primetime, HLN was down -8% in Total Viewers and up +3% in the demo. It should be noted that HLN had strong ratings for coverage of Whitney Houston‘s death in February 2012.

HLN’s late afternoon hours showed significant year-over-year growth: “Making it in America” at 4pmET was up +111% in Total Viewers and +115% in the A25-54 demographic, while “Evening Express” was up +88% and +123% at 5pmET and +55% and +78% at 6pmET, respectively.

The network had ups and downs in primetime: Jane Velez-Mitchell‘s 7pmET program was up +12% in Total Viewers and +25% among younger viewers, while Nancy Grace‘s 8pmET program was down across the board, -16% in Total Viewers and -14% in the A25-54 demographic. The 9pmET hour, which is home to Dr. Drew Pinsky‘s show and ABC’s “What Would You Do?,” is down -7% in Total Viewers but up +15% in the demographic.

HLN was up the most of the four cable news networks compared to last month: the network grew +26% in Total Viewers and +15% in the demographic in Total Day, and +24% and +18%, respectively, in primetime.

There were ups and downs for HLN in January 2013. Despite seeing declines in Total Viewers compared to the same month last year, the network’s viewership grew among younger viewers.

The ratings for January 2013:

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 315,000 Total Viewers / 118,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 224,000 Total Viewers / 92,000 A25-54

Compared to January 2012, HLN was down -11% in Total Viewers and up +5% in the demo in Total Day. In primetime, the network was down -15% in Total Viewers and up +15% among A25-54 viewers.

Although Nancy Grace‘s program was down in both ratings measurements compared to last year, -29% in Total Viewers and -3% in demo, the 9pmET and 10pmET hours of programming on HLN both grew among younger viewers.

At 9pmET, which is home to Dr. Drew Pinsky‘s program, “What Would You Do?” and the weekend Mysteries programming, HLN is down -12% in Total Viewers and up +21% among younger viewers. A similar pattern holds in the 10pmET hour, which is flat in Total Viewers and up +19% in the demo.

HLN was down significantly compared to 2011, when coverage of the Casey Anthony trial boosted the network’s ratings. In Total Day, HLN was down -27% in Total Viewers and -20% in the A25-54 demographic. In primetime, the network was down -32% in Total Viewers and -22% in the demo.

The ratings for 2012:

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 337,000 Total Viewers / 114,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 243,000 Total Viewers / 95,000 A25-54

Nancy Grace‘s 8pmET program was down -43% in Total Viewers and -35% in A25-54 viewers for the year. Jane Velez-Mitchell‘s 7pmET program was down -31% and -26% and Dr. Drew Pinsky‘s 9pmET program was down -46% and -38%, respectively.

HLN’s quarterly ratings also saw declines: In Total Day, the network was down -16% in Total Viewers and -3% in the demographic compared to the same quarter last year. In primetime, HLN was down -25% and -4%, respectively.

There was some good news for HLN in the month of December — despite year-over-year declines in Total Viewers, HLN was up +7% in Total Day and +2% in primetime in the A25-54 demographic.

Coverage of Friday’s tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, will continue Saturday on the broadcast and cable networks.

On ABC, weekday anchor George Stephanopoulos will anchor “Good Morning America” from Newtown. Elizabeth Vargas will join him from New York. ABC’s Josh Elliott, Amy Robach and Dan Harris will report from the scene in Newtown.

NBC’s “Today” will also have the weekday team in, with Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie anchoring from Newtown. Lester Holt, Erica Hill, Ann Curry and Willie Geist will contribute to the program.

Anthony Mason and Rebecca Jarvis will anchor “CBS This Morning Saturday” from Newtown. CBS will also preempt “48 Hours” Saturday night for a special report on the shooting at 10pmET.

Fox News will be live at 5amET with “Fox & Friends First.” An expanded edition of “Fox & Friends” will air from 6-10amET, and will be simulcast on FBN. The 10am-noon business block will be preempted for live coverage anchored by Jon Scott and Jenna Lee. Scott will also host an expanded two-hour “Fox Report” beginning at 6pmET. Mike Huckabee‘s program will be live from NYC at 8pmET and Jeanine Pirro and Geraldo Rivera will host their primetime shows from Newtown.

MSNBC will focus on the shooting during regularly-scheduled programming and will be live until at least 7pmET Saturday night.

On CNN, Ali Velshi and Jon Berman will anchor from 6-9amET. Soledad O’Brien will anchor from 9-11amET, Wolf Blitzer will anchor from 11am-1pmET and Don Lemon will anchor from 1-3pmET. O’Brien will anchor from 3-5pmET, and Blitzer and Kate Bolduan will anchor from 5-8pmET. Anderson Cooper will anchor from 8-9pmET,  Lemon and O’Brien will anchor from 9-10pmET, and Cooper will take over again from 10-11pmET.

On HLN, Nancy Grace will host a special on the shooting tonight at 8pmET. Dr. Drew Pinsky will host a special live hour at 9pmET.

Rob Koebel, a reporter for WTMJ TV in Milwaukee who resigned his job following a disorderly conduct arrest, which included urinating outside the Apple Store at a mall in Glendale, WI, in part blames his ex-wife, Christi Paul, an anchor on HLN.

Paul wrote Love Isn’t Supposed to Hurt, detailing the “emotional abuse heaped on her by her first husband whose violent, profanity-laced tirades left her feeling as though she had no value, no self-worth, and nowhere to turn for help.”

Koebel tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “what really set me off in a three-day drinking binge leading up to the arrest” were two interviews that Paul gave promoting her book. The couple have been divorced for 17 years.

Koebel called the book “accurate to a degree and, then again, very misleading.” He said the book “destroyed my life.”

He was “very hurt she would share my alcoholism on TV,” including in an appearance on Drew Pinsky‘s show on HLN.

While Fox News, CNN and MSNBC were down year-to-year, HLN saw growth in its primetime: up +4% in Total Viewers and flat in A25-54 viewers. In Total Day viewership, HLN was down -4% in Total Viewers and down -8% in A25-54 viewers.

The ratings for March, 2012:

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 378K total viewers / 116K A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 258Ktotal viewers / 94K A25-54

For the quarter, HLN was up +8% in Total Viewers and down -6% in A25-54 viewers in Total Day. In Primetime, the network was up +7% in Total Viewers and flat in the demographic.

The ratings for Q1, 2012:

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 390K total viewers / 117K A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 264Ktotal viewers / 96K A25-54

Compared to the year-ago quarter, HLN’s daytime programming is down -11% in Total Viewers and down -23% in the demo.

Things are not much better in the later hours. Jane Velez-Mitchell at 7pmET hour, Nancy Grace at 8pmET and Dr. Drew Pinsky at 9pmET are all down in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers compared to Q1 2011.

The 5pmET hour of “HLN Special Report” is up +7% in Total Viewers and down -23% in the demographic compared to the year-ago quarter. “Prime News” at 6pmET shows a similar trend, up +13% in Total Viewers and down -20% in A25-54 viewers.