Last night the Committee to Protect Journalists held its annual gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. The bulk of the event was to honor journalists who risked their lives to cover the news, and along the way a few well-known faces showed up. In addition to the international award recipients, Mansoor al-Jamri of Bahrain, Javier Valdez Cardenas of Mexico, Umar Cheema of Pakistan and Natalya Radina of Belarus, former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather accepted a lifetime achievement award, while Comcast CEO Brian Roberts accepted his first public award since his cable company acquired NBCUniversal.

In his speech, Rather set his sights squarely on corporate media–of which Roberts is clearly a part– and sent a message to journalists to not forget their heritage. He was introduced by First Amendment lawyer James Goodale, who began by defending Rather’s report on former President George W. Bush‘s military service. “All the facts in that particular program were substantially correct,” Goodale said. “He was correct.”

Questions surrounding that report led to Rather’s departure from CBS News.

“As you know, we are living in an age when big money owns everything…including the news,” Rather said. “That cash bought a lot of silence for a long time. Enough time for unchecked power to get this country tangled into messes all around the world. We all know that money talks. But, so do the people…

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> Breaking: At 4:17pmET, the verdict was read. Conrad Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of pop star Michael Jackson.

The CBS News special report ran until 4:22pm, ABC’s until 4:23 and NBC’s and FOX’s until 4:24pm. Fox News also ended coverage, anchored by Shepard Smith, at 4:24 when Eric Bolling picked up on “Your World” filling in for Neil Cavuto. HLN, MSNBC and CNN continued through the 4pmET hour.

> Earlier: The networks are preparing a special reports for the verdict in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. Around 2:05pmET, the the jury announced it had reached a verdict which will be read around 4pmET.

ABC News will produce a special report with Diane Sawyer anchoring from New York. Brian Williams Actually now Harry Smith will anchor a network special report for NBC stations and Scott Pelley will anchor a special for CBS stations. Bill Hemmer will anchor for FOX stations.

The cable news channels will all be carrying the verdict. CNN International will simulcast CNN/US beginning at 3:30pmET. HLN will be without the services of trial queen Nancy Grace who is rehearsing for tonight’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Jane Velez Mitchell will lead coverage on HLN and fill in on “Nancy Grace” tonight, which has been the arrangement on previous Monday and Tuesday nights during the ABC dancing competition.

It’s been 20 years since the launch of a successful prime-time newsmagazine, and last night’s debut of Brian Williams’ “Rock Center” on NBC showed why.

It’s hard to be different. It’s harder to be good. It’s a million-to-one shot to be different and good.

“Rock Center” was, at times, different and good, but it didn’t come close to being both at the same time. In fact, the embarrassing final segments with Williams and Jon Stewart made “The Playboy Club,” which “Rock Center” replaced at 10 p.m. Mondays, look like “Meet the Press.”

For most of the broadcast, ‘Rock Center’ played it straight, with well-produced taped packages and live studio debriefings between Williams and correspondents Harry Smith, Richard Engel and Kate Snow.

Smith reported on oil boomtown Williston, N.D.; Engel on Syria’s resistance movement and Snow on pregnant Chinese women who pay to give birth in the U.S. in order to obtain American citizenship for their babies before returning home.

Williams did a short piece on a Chicago scientist’s idea to lessen the agony of air travel’s boarding procedure. As a tease, Williams and Stewart did a lame bit on set while seated in a row of three airline seats. Unlike unsuspecting viewers, Stewart had buckled his seatbelt.

Maybe because it was Halloween, the goblins were already circling by the time Williams sat down to chat up his buddy Stewart, on whose Comedy Central ‘Daily Show’ Williams has killed 19 times. Last night was a double homicide.

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On the premiere of NBC’s “Rock Center” tonight, host Brian Williams will sit down for a conversation with comedian and “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart. Williams made the announcement during “Sunday Night Football” on NBC last night. Stewart does not frequently give interviews, usually limiting appearances to programs in which the host has appeared on “The Daily Show.”

Williams is a veritable “Daily Show” regular.

In addition to the Stewart booking, “Rock Center” released two extended previews of its long-form stories online early. One of the stories features Harry Smith traveling to a town in North Dakota that is having a job boom thanks to a petroleum discovery. Another features Kate Snow looking into the “birth tourism” trade, which has wealthy (and not-so-wealthy) foreign women paying to enter the U.S. in order to give birth:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

NBC’s Harry Smith and Kate Snow went on the “Today” show this morning to talk about “Rock Center,” each promoting the stories they’ll be reporting for Monday’s debut.

When Matt Lauer asked Smith about the show, the veteran CBS Newsman who joined NBC over the summer cited two competitors: “I think the best way you can describe it is a combination of ’60 Minutes’ and ‘Nightline.’”

NBC News has announced the stories coming up on Monday’s debut of “Rock Center with Brian Williams.”

• Kate Snow investigates a new industry: women paying big bucks to come from China to America in order to give birth and go home with US citizenship.

• Richard Engel makes a dangerous trip into Syria to report on the anti-government activists who refuse to give up or give in.

• Harry Smith takes us to the one place in America with a NEGATIVE unemployment rate; if you have a pulse, you have a job.

• And, there’s a new way to end the agony that is the airline boarding process!

NBC’s upcoming primetime newsmagazine “Rock Center with Brian Williams” continues to add high-profile contributors. The latest addition is NBC “Today” news anchor and third hour co-host Natalie Morales. Morales will stay on in her current role with “Today,” in addition to her new “Rock Center” gig.

“Rock Center” is slated to debut Monday, October 31 at 10 PM, in the time period vacated by “Playboy Club.” Other correspondents include Kate Snow and Harry Smith as well as contributors Meredith Vieira and Ted Koppel.

NBC also released a new promo for the program, which features a well-known fake newsman:

In a move that has been widely speculated, NBC News has named Ted Koppel as a special correspondent to “Rock Center With Brian Williams.”

Koppel, who left ABC News in 2005, began his career as an NBC page. During his 42 years at ABC, he was a weekend anchor, the chief diplomatic correspondent, and anchor and managing editor of “Nightline.”

“While his place in the history of television journalism is already established, his work here is just beginning,” Williams said in a statement. “This is the next chapter, and it’s an enormous honor to work with this giant and former competitor.”

Koppel — who has been outspoken on the state of today’s news coverage — joins Harry Smith, Meredith Vieira and Kate Snow as a contributor to the newsmagazine, which premieres Oct. 31.

Read the announcement from NBC after the jump. Read more

NBC’s new primetime newsmagazine, “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” finally has a premiere date. The newsmag will debut on NBC Monday, October 31 at 10 PM.

That is the timeslot currently occupied by “The Playboy Club,” so that program will either likely be canceled, moved to another night or skipped that week. No word yet on whether the time period will become its permanent home on the network. Update: Well that was quick, NBC has confirmed that “Playboy Club” has been canceled, so “Rock Center” will get the timeslot til at least midseason.

Correspondents for the program have been busy filing reports for the program over the last few weeks, with Harry Smith saying last week that the program could debut “in early October.” It may have been ready to go early in the month, but having it debut later gives NBC more of an opportunity to promote the series.

“‘Rock Center’ will cover a slightly different world than anything else on television,” said Williams in a statement. “The format will be good, real, hard journalism – and then some. We intend to be the new home of quality journalism on a weekly basis, and on the web at all times.”

More information, after the jump.

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Could NBC’s upcoming newsmagaine “Rock Center” be hitting the airwaves sooner rather than later? The Willston Herald in Willston, North Dakota spoke to correspondent Harry Smith, who was in town shooting a piece for the program last week.

Plans call for this to be a new prime time magazine show on NBC, expected to air sometime in early October.

“It will be hosted by Brian Williams and will be kind of a cross between Nightline and Sixty Minutes. It’s really exciting,” said Smith.

Considering that October starts on Saturday, we should find out soon whether an early October launch is in the works. An increasingly likely timeslot is Monday nights at 10 PM, currently home to “The Playboy Club.”

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