• CNN host Piers Morgan is becoming a producer. Morgan, alongside manager John Ferriter, will EP a drama series about life at a tabloid on Fleet Street in the 1970s for Starz. “A street full of the most ruthless and amoral people in the world existed, and it was called Fleet Street.”

• Morgan was also the recipient of the ” Sarah Brady Visionary Award” from The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Morgan and fellow honoree Laura Wasser were feted in Los Angeles.

• A conservative group is organizing a protest for Comcast’s annual shareholders meeting. The protest is tied to the partisan perception of MSNBC. Shareholder meetings are pretty popular places for protests.

Last night’s Sunday Night Football thriller between rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore scored a 14.6 overnight rating and 23 share according to the Nielsen Company.

Ratings are up 16 percent (12.6/20) from last year’s Week 12 game between the two teams and a seven percent increase over last year’s Week 13 game (13.7/21) between Minnesota and Arizona.

Despite featuring two of the top teams in the AFC, the 14.6 overnight was only the sixth-highest overnight for a SNF game this season.

Locally, the game earned a 54.4 rating and 71 share in Pittsburgh and a 47.6 rating and 65 share in Baltimore.

Ricky Martin, Rainn Wilson, Holly Robinson Peete, Sir Richard Branson and Muhammad Ali are among the Blue Ribbon Panelists for the fourth annual “CNN Heroes” event which will air Thanksgiving night.

This year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes, as selected by the panel, will be unveiled next Thursday on CNN.com with their profiles added to CNNHeroes.com.

The event at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles will once again be hosted by Anderson Cooper with senior EP Kelly Flynn at the helm. The guest list of presenters and musical performances is still coming together.

More in the press release after the jump…

Read more

CNBC’s John Harwood sat down with Pres. Obama this afternoon. The first question was about last Friday’s SEC charges against Goldman Sachs. Harwood asked the president if there was “something fishy and political” about the timing of the suit considering the Senate is beginning debate on a financial regulation bill:

JOHN HARWOOD: So, you say categorically no winks, no heads up in advance –

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Categorically.

HARWOOD: — no signal from anyone –

PRES. OBAMA: Categorically. We– we– we found out about it on — CNBC.

HARWOOD: Nice.

Meanwhile, while that was going on at the White House, on CNBC-TV, Virgin CEO Richard Branson was swearing up a storm with Maria Bartiromo.

Read more

Remember that CBS’ Early Show show that was supposed to be the first-ever to take place entirely aboard a plane?

It’s not happening.

Dave Price and founder and pres. of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson announced in February, while flying in one of Branson’s birds, that an Early Show broadcast would be done mid-flight “next month.” But CBS News tells us the plan has been scrapped.

A CBS News spokesperson tells TVNewser, “We’ve re-directed our efforts to further cover the economy and the challenges facing ordinary Americans, which remains our focus.”

Some network morning shows broadcast from a train. Some go to the Ends of the Earth. Next month, CBS’ The Early Show will broadcast from an aircraft in flight.

The announcement was made this morning by Virgin America CEO Sir Richard Branson, while he and weather anchor Dave Price were at 33,000 feet.

Today’s show featured Price’s weather reports while flying, and next month all the anchors will hop aboard with Branson. “Next month, on every single Virgin America plane, you’ll be able to get the Internet on the plane, use the Internet the whole journey,” said Branson. “And that’s how we can actually broadcast live back to a television show today.”

Click continued to see today’s announcement…

Read more