Facebook and the PR agency it hired, Burson-Marsteller, are having to do some damage control today after the agency began a whisper campaign about Facebook competitor Google’s Social Circle.

PRNewser has the backstory.

USA Today wrote about the PR pitch earlier this week and revealed who was behind it:

Pushed by two high-profile media figures — former CNBC news anchor Jim Goldman and former political columnist John Mercurio, both of whom recently joined Burson — the whisper campaign illustrates how privacy has become a lightning-rod issue. Goldman pitched the Social Circle issue as a huge privacy breach to Google users and an important story for consumers.

Goldman was CNBC’s correspondent in Silicon Valley for 7 years, departing last year for the public relations giant. Mercurio is the former executive editor of National Journal‘s The Hotline.

> Earlier on mediabistro: Google’s Marissa Mayer: “Google hasn’t gotten social right yet.”

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After presenting him with a few gifts and a card, which she told him he couldn’t read on the air, a choked-up Haines said, “Give me your hand. Coming to work for the last 5 1/2 years has been an absolute joy. You are the best. The absolute best. We wish you the best of luck. We’re going to miss you a lot.” Burnett, choked up herself saying, “I feel the same way.”

Burnett is leaving CNBC for CNN early next month in an as-yet announced timeslot. Burnett still has one more hour to go, hosting “Street Signs” this afternoon. A new anchor for either show has not been named, though CNBC just snagged Brian Sullivan from FBN, so look for a slot for him in market hours.

In addition to Burnett departing, her show producer Rich Carolan is also leaving CNBC. TVNewser has learned he’s going to be managing director at Burson Marsteller. The same PR firm where former CNBC reporter Jim Goldman now works.

A rising star at NBC, Burnett often filled in on “Today,” was a staple on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and also appeared on “Meet the Press” and “The Apprentice.”

Any chance at moving to a high-profile anchor role at NBC seemed to go by the wayside as “Today” is poised to name Ann Curry the co-anchor, Natalie Morales news anchor and Savannah Guthrie national correspondent.

• Video of Burnett’s goodbye, after the jump

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They also chatted about the ever-changing news biz: “I had a sense several years ago that cable news, that traditional nightly news would be undergoing some significant change and we’re seeing that really take shape today. It’s one of the key reasons I decided now would be a good change in my own life and my own career. It’s not good or bad. It’s just what is happening in the industry.” Read the whole Q&A here.

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Goldman, a 21-year technology reporting veteran, is leaving TV news altogether and joining public relations firm Burson-Marsteller as an executive in their San Francisco office.

Goldman’s reporting, on companies ranging from Apple to Zynga and everything in between, has been seen on CNBC, MSNBC and occasionally on the weekend editions of “NBC Nightly News.” He joined CNBC from TechTV in 2003. Prior to that, he was a technology correspondent for ABC News in New York.

TVNewser has also learned CNBC will announce today that it has hired Jon Fortt from Fortune magazine to be the new correspondent in Silicon Valley. At Fortune, Fortt was as a senior writer covering tech companies.

Before joining Fortune in 2007, Fortt was a senior editor at Business 2.0 magazine which was shuttered in October of that year. From 1999 to 2006, Fortt was a reporter at the San Jose Mercury News.

> More: It’s official. CNBC press release after the jump…

> More: Goldman is the second CNBC correspondent to leave the network for a job in PR in the last few months. Pharma reporter Mike Huckman joined the firm MS&L in May.

> More: Also after the jump, the release from Burson-Marsteller about Goldman’s appointment as U.S. Technology Practice Chair for the firm…
Jim Goldman, CNBC’s Silicon Valley bureau chief since 2003, is leaving the network, TVNewser has learned. And the business news channel has already found a new correspondent to cover the technology beat.

Goldman, a 21-year technology reporting veteran, is leaving TV news altogether and joining public relations firm Burson-Marsteller as an executive in their San Francisco office.

Goldman’s reporting, on companies ranging from Apple to Zynga and everything in between, has been seen on CNBC, MSNBC and occasionally on the weekend editions of “NBC Nightly News.” He joined CNBC from TechTV in 2003. Prior to that, he was a technology correspondent for ABC News in New York.

TVNewser has also learned CNBC will announce today that it has hired Jon Fortt from Fortune magazine to be the new correspondent in Silicon Valley. At Fortune, Fortt was as a senior writer covering tech companies.

Before joining Fortune in 2007, Fortt was a senior editor at Business 2.0 magazine which was shuttered in October of that year. From 1999 to 2006, Fortt was a reporter at the San Jose Mercury News.

> More: It’s official. CNBC press release after the jump…

> More: Goldman is the second CNBC correspondent to leave the network for a job in PR in the last few months. Pharma reporter Mike Huckman joined the firm MS&L in May.

> More: Also after the jump, the release from Burson-Marsteller about Goldman’s appointment as U.S. Technology Practice Chair for the firm…

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CNBC running a series this week called “American Titans” with reporting on major U.S. companies during business day and a corresponding documentary in primetime. Schedule: Erin Burnett on ExxonMobil (Monday), Melissa Lee and Jim Goldman on Apple (Tuesday), Michelle Caruso-Cabrera and Phil LeBeau on Boeing (Wednesday), Carl Quintanilla on McDonald’s (Thursday), Maria Bartiromo on Google (Friday).

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Claman also had a biz network exclusive with Ford CEO Alan Mullaly who was a keynote speaker this morning. Network insiders confirm with TVNewser that CNBC passed on having Mullaly as a guest when he turned up first on FBN.

And in addition to eight live shots already on CNBC, we caught up with Silicon Valley Bureau Chief Jim Goldman who was doing cross-talk interviews with NBC affiliates. And this comes off Goldman’s 14-live shot day on Tuesday with the Google Nexus news.

And working on the west coast (we’re in Las Vegas) for east coast-based networks makes for long days. Claman’s been up since 3:45am, Goldman since 1:45am.

• We’ll be talking with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo tomorrow.

• And while 3D TV is getting a lot of the buzz at this year’s show, new eReader devices are also wowing the crowds. We got a glimpse of The Que, from Plastic Logic and attended a briefing on the Skiff Reader, which is so new we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the device. Our new blog eBookNewser has that part of the story…

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It’s Apple night tomorrow and Tuesday with two documentaries: “Welcome To Macintosh” and “MacHEADS” which tell the story of how Apple came to be.

Wednesday, at 10pmET, CNBC’s David Faber presents “Marriage from Hell: Breakup of AOL Time Warner.” And Thursday, at 10pmET, “Plant of the Apps” hosted by CNBC’s Scott Wapner.

CNBC will broadcast live from CES Thursday and Friday as Maria Bartiromo anchors “Closing Bell” and “The Wall Street Journal Report” from NBC Universal’s studio at the show. NBC Universal is the CES broadcast partner.

CNBC’s Media & Entertainment Reporter Julia Boorstin, and CNBC’s Silicon Valley Bureau Chief Jim Goldman, will provide coverage and interviews from CES throughout CNBC’s Business Day programming.

• I’ll be covering CES again this year for several mediabistro.com blogs including TVNewser, WebNewser and eBookNewser…

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That distinction is a big one (apparently). CNBC’s Jim Goldman reported the original news and the “clarification” several minutes later.

After the jump, you can see a series of videos cataloging the incident.

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CNBC is also covering today with Jim Goldman and Julia Boorstin. Interestingly, while News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal and FBN, the WSJ continues its partnership deal with CNBC – a deal brokered before Rupert Murdoch bought Dow Jones.

And speaking of Mr. Murdoch, he was serenaded…or rather roasted… last night by singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, who wrote and performed a song called “Oh Rupert” which included the line, “You said you’ve got a secret plan / You Hired Glenn Beck to Ruin the Republicans.”

• BayNewser‘s coverage…

- Video: Twitter Leads off All Things D
- Video: Rupert Murdoch Makes the Cocktail Party Rounds

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Lyons said Goldman “got punked” by his Apple sources regarding the health of (real) Steve Jobs, and Goldman (and CNBC’s Dennis Kneale) responded strongly.

Silicon Alley Insider writes Lyons thinks he’s banned from the network now, but CNBC denies it.

Click here to see the heated exchange yesterday.

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