Longtime CBS News executive Lane Venardos was fondly remembered Wednesday in a moving service at the Paley Center in New York City.

Venardos who died August 19 at his home in Maui, spent 30 years at CBS News producing live news, special events and documentaries. He would go on to produce the “Survivor” live finales for Mark Burnett on CBS.

More than 200 luminaries from across the television industry attended the memorial, including CBS News chairman Jeff Fager, News president David Rhodes; Charles Osgood, Scott Pelley, Bob Schieffer, Lesley Stahl, and Rita Braver; current “CBS Evening News” EP Pat Shevlin, CBS News VP Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews (who currently has the job Venardos once held) and “Sunday Morning” EP Rand Morrison.

Also Diane Sawyer, now with ABC News, who worked with Venardos during her time at CBS and from NBC: Brian Williams, News president Steve Capus and former CBSer, now EP of “Rock Center” Rome Hartman, were there, as was former CBS News president Andrew Heyward. ABC’s “This Week” EP Rick Kaplan, and former “GMA” boss Jim Murphy, both former CBS Newsers, attended.

Former CBS News and CBS, Inc. president Howard Stringer, who worked closely with Venardos during his years at CBS and who is now CEO of Sony, spoke via video. Other speakers included Pelley, Stahl, Williams and Venardos’s daughter Kelly who is a producer for “NBC Nightly News.” CBS News “48 Hours” EP Susan Zirinsky presented a video tribute (after the jump). The service concluded with a vocal solo performed by Venardos’s son, Kevin.

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Lisa Morin, who spent the last 15 years with “The Oprah Winfrey Show” has been named an executive producer of “Anderson,” the daily syndicated show hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Morin, who was Senior Supervising Producer of “Oprah” will work alongside former “Good Morning America” Senior EP Jim Murphy on “Anderson.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to work with Anderson and I think there are sides to him that most people will be surprised to see,” says Morin in a press release. “Anderson is going to bring a breath of fresh air to daytime.” “Anderson” launches September 12.

Press release after the jump…

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If Anderson Cooper were a car, he’d be a classic American convertible.

“Maybe it’s the silver hair. Maybe it’s the kind of work he does. I don’t think he’d be a Porsche,” says Jim Murphy, executive producer of Cooper’s upcoming daytime show. “He’s going to cover a lot of space and be very open to people watching.”

Murphy knows about covering space. Prior to joining ABC in 2006 as senior executive producer of ABC’s ‘Good Morning America,’ he did two e.p. stints at CBS, with ‘Evening News’ under Dan Rather, then Bob Schieffer; and ‘CBS This Morning.’

Murphy jumps to the syndicated ‘Anderson’ in mid-March. The talk show launches Sept. 12, replacing Oprah Winfrey in some markets. (No pressure.)

Though Murphy and Cooper barely know each other, in Murphy’s words, they have several mutual friends. “The funny thing is, they’ve said to both of us over the years that we’d make a really good team,” Murphy says. “I’ve admired the guy for a hell of a long time.”

As it turns out, the timing was perfect. Murphy, who turned 50 last year, was burning out and needed a change. He went to new ABC News president Ben Sherwood, who had been Murphy’s predecessor on ‘GMA.’

“I was honest with him and he was honest with me,” Murphy says. “Morning TV is very hard, very competitive, very high pressure. You can only do this job for a certain amount of time – it’s definitely like dog years.

“This [‘Anderson’] was out there. Nothing else at ABC was as interesting or challenging. We agreed to part amicably.” Murphy was released from the remainder of his contract.

Given that Cooper will continue his nightly show at CNN as well as his occasional pieces for CBS’s ’60 Minutes,’ the big question is this: What happens to ‘Anderson’ when Cooper is called away for big breaking news anywhere on the planet?

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Developing: TVNewser has learned that ABC News boss Ben Sherwood has made his decision on a replacement for Jim Murphy at “Good Morning America.” The announcement is expected any minute and could involve more than just the GMA move. Murphy, as we first reported on Wednesday, is moving to Telepictures to be the EP of Anderson Cooper‘s syndicated show.

First on TVNewser: ABC’s “Good Morning America” senior executive producer Jim Murphy is leaving ABC News and will soon be named executive producer of Anderson Cooper‘s upcoming syndicated show “Anderson”, TVNewser has learned.

Murphy has been at the helm of “GMA” since 2006.

Before joining the ABC morning show he was the executive producer of the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather,”  and before that worked at CBS’ “The Early Show.”

Update: Murphy will stay on at “GMA” through mid-March. ABC News president Ben Sherwood says in an email to employees that ABC will announce “a new leader who will work closely with Tom [Cibrowski] and the whole team at GMA” in the coming days. Sherwood’s full email is after the jump, as is the release from Telepictures.

“I am really excited to work with Jim. He has a wealth of experience and I look forward to collaborating with him to create a program that is fun, informative and entertaining for daytime viewers,” said Cooper in a statement.

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ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross was the lead on “Good Morning America” Monday morning to report on the 12 men in three British cities who’d been arrested hours earlier for allegedly orchestrating a major bomb plot. But a potential threat closer to home, and how it was reported, has some TV news watchers critical of ABC’s coverage.

At 7:03amET, Ross was on the GMA set reporting on the UK bomb plot. 40 minutes later, the chief investigative correspondent was back on set, reporting on police activity at Newark Liberty airport in New Jersey:

“You are looking at a live picture of Newark airport. Authorities are investigating a possible bomb at the American Airlines terminal there. Terminal A is shut down. Bomb squads are on the scene. Apparently something suspicious was found behind the American Airlines’ baggage room…They’re really jittery about this. When this kind of thing happens, sometimes, there can be overreaction. We do not have absolute confirmation, but officers on the scene do believe it is a bomb.”

GMA EP Jim Murphy tells TVNewser the Newark story was being reported “against the backdrop of an unfolding terrorist plot in the UK, repeated warnings from officials all over the world that there could be attacks during the holidays and more than one reporter being told by sources at Newark that they were fairly certain they had a bomb on their hands.”

Ross continued his report,

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B&C’s Marisa Guthrie has an update on the search for David Westin‘s replacement at ABC News. Guthrie reports Disney-ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney was at ABC News headquarters in New York last week:

According to multiple sources, Sweeney held meetings with a handful of current executives at ABC News, including James Goldston and Jim Murphy, executive producers at Nightline and Good Morning America, respectively. Sweeney also met with Kate O’Brian, senior VP of news coverage. Jon Banner, executive producer of World News with Diane Sawyer, had a meeting with Sweeney at an earlier occasion.

Multiple names from the ABC station group including O&O president Rebecca Campbell and Emily Barr, the president and general manager of WLS-TV, the ABC O&O in Chicago, have been disavowed.

By the way, we still have our poll open on the subject. What do you think?

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“The View’s” Elisabeth Hasselbeck is set to join ABC’s “Good Morning America” as a contributor, covering family issues.

“I am thrilled to join the ‘Good Morning America’ team, and I am thankful for this opportunity to raise awareness and explore the most important issues facing parents and children,” said Hasselbeck, who lives in New York with her husband, Tim Hasselbeck, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst, and their three children.

Hasselbeck was first seen on CBS’ “Survivor: The Australian Outback,” joining “The View” in November 2003. Known for her conservative values, Hasselbeck has also appeared on FNC.

“Elisabeth brings a very distinctive style and unique perspective that fits well with the broadcast,” said Executive Producer Jim Murphy.

ABC News employees will soon be getting a letter in the mail asking them if they’d like to give up their jobs. It is part of a massive reorganization — the size of which has not been seen in news division president David Westin‘s 13 years at the helm.

Some of the changes take effect tomorrow. “World News with Diane Sawyer” and “Good Morning America,” which had separate weekday and weekend staffs, will now be one. The EP of Weekend GMA, Andrew Morse will now report to the weekday senior EP, Jim Murphy. Same goes for the “World News” production staff.

But this is just the beginning.

In the end, 300 to 400 jobs at ABC News will be gone.

TVNewser spoke with Westin not long after the changes were announced:

TVNewser: 300-400 is the number we’ve been reporting. Is there a way to break it down by show or by bureau or by job?

Westin: I’m not confirming that number. But it’s really substantial, larger than anything, in terms of reduction in the 13 years since I’ve been here. We need to see who volunteers and reconfigure the programs from there. This will be all parts of the organization.

TVNewser: What is your expectation of the number who volunteer vs. the layoffs that might be coming?

Westin: I truly don’t know. I’ve only really been involved in this once before. We did one in 2000 and 2001. I truly appreciate the exemption [from ABC parent Disney] that allows people to have control over this.

TVNewser: You wrote in your memo that the transformation will take place between now and the end of the year. But do you have a target date for the buyouts/layoffs to be complete?

Westin: The [program] gives people 30 days to volunteer [from the time they receive their letter]. And we reserve the right to say “no.” We will be judicious especially with people who are too valuable. Then we’ll see involuntary reductions sometime after that. The expectation is sometime in the next 60-70 days.

TVNewser: What would you say to critics who charge this “transformation” is a convenient way to get rid of experienced employees and bring in younger, cheaper talent?

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The NY Observer’s Felix Gillette takes a look at George Stephanopoulos‘ start as a “Good Morning America” anchor for ABC and the changes required to make a transition to the modern morning show. Stephanopoulos and others admit that he doesn’t normally quite “open up” in the way that some morning hosts do, but Stephanopoulos says he’s taken some tips from his wife, actress Ali Wentworth, who’s experienced in Improv, to help adjust.

So far, his bosses seem pleased. ABC News president David Westin says, “I think he’s doing remarkably well,” and EP Jim Murphy commended his range and said, “It’s going spectacular.”

Ratings-wise, the new “GMA” team has yet to gain ground on the morning show leader, NBC’s “Today,” but ABC execs are hopeful going forward:

“I’m hopeful that if you talk to me in six months or a year that the audience will have responded,” said Mr. Westin. “This is way early going. But the way I look at it, we are in better shape than I would have predicted at this point.”