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.

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The list of correspondents in the field for CNN is after the jump.

Update: HLN is blowing up its primetime lineup to provide hurricane coverage. Those details are also after the jump.
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Several individual hours of programming saw triple-digit increases in the demographic: the 1oamET hour was up +108% compared to the previous four weeks, while the 11amET and 2pmET hour were up +107% and +123%, respectively.

Trial coverage was anchored by Vinnie Politan, Christi Paul and Ryan Smith. Additionally, correspondents Jean Casarez and Beth Karas offered joint coverage from the courthouse in Bellafonte, PA — the pair traded off so one was always on air, the other was always in court. They were aided by two Atlanta-based production teams. Sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts of child sex abuse Friday.

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The show will originate from Atlanta and will air from 5-7 PM, beginning Monday, June 4. Ryan Smith will host the show, joined by Clark Howard and Ishe Sesay, who joins HLN from sister network CNN. Angie Massie will serve as EP.

From 5-6 PM HLN currently airs “HLN Special Report,” and “Prime News” from 6-7 PM. Those shows will no longer air, but HLN says there won’t be any staff reductions, as staff will either work on “Evening Express,” or move to another show. Host Vinnie Politan will continue to anchor during In Session, and we hear he will be getting a new daytime show soon as well.

More, after the jump.

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Whitney Houston‘s funeral is underway at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ.

CNN’s coverage began at 11amET with Soledad O’Brien, Piers Morgan and Don Lemon anchoring from Newark. Lemon described the scene outside the church, where the streets have been blocked off since last night, as filled with “hordes of media from all over the country, from Germany, from China, everywhere.”

On Fox News, Jon Scott said Houston’s “near-perfect voice brought tears and joy to people around the world.” Scott and Uma Pemmaraju anchored from New York, with Kelly Wright reporting from Newark.

MSNBC’s coverage, anchored by Alex Witt, began at 12pmET following this morning’s debut of “Melissa Harris-Perry.” Craig Melvin, reporting from Newark, did a live interview with Shaun Robinson, the “Access Hollywood” reporter who was the last person to interview Houston.

HLN’s coverage — anchored by Ryan Smith and Susan Hendricks, with Jane Velez-Mitchell and AJ Hammer in Newark — begun at 9amET and has featured a series of retrospectives on Houston’s life.

About 1500 people, including ABC’s Diane Sawyer, are attending the service.

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The funeral will be streamed online at the AP’s livestream page, so fans can bypass cable news if they so choose. In addition, users can expect to watch the AP stream on many news sites including FoxNews.com and CNN.com (even though CNN does not subscribe to AP content, the AP’s coverage is pool coverage, so CNN can use it). Those that do turn on their TV’s will have a number of options.

CNN seems to have the most comprehensive coverage lined up, with Piers Morgan, Don Lemon and Soledad O’Brien anchoring from 11:30 AM-2 PM. Saturday and Sunday evening Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Randi Kaye will host primetime specials looking at Houston’s life.

Fox News will be covering the funeral live from 11:30 AM-2PM, with Jon Scott and Uma Pemmaraju anchoring in New York. Kelly Wright will report from outside the church in Newark.

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First on TVNewser: With the recent departures of both Chuck Roberts and Richard Lui, HLN has revamped its dayside anchor line-up with the shuffling of some talent.

Mike Galanos, who had been anchoring “Prime News,” will now anchor five four hours of HLN’s afternoon news programing (12-4pmET) with Richelle Carey, Susan Hendricks, and Christi Paul, among others, forming a Mon-Fri supporting ensemble. (Carey will continue anchoring 4-5pmET.)

TruTV’s “In Session” anchor Vinnie Politan will do double duty with the two Turner networks, hosting HLN’s “Prime News” at 6pmET while continuing with “In Session.” Also from “In Session,” Ryan Smith, who will be a contributor on “Morning Express.”

For Christi Paul, the HLN duties are tacked on to her “In Session” gig. An HLN spokesperson tells us, “In Session,” “will remain true to its core mission as the only place on TV for real-life courtroom coverage.”

Finally, Natasha Curry becomes the solo anchor of HLN Weekend News. She will continue to be the back-up for Robin Meade and will rotate with Hendricks and Carey as anchors of the 10amET hour.

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The other “In Session” host is Ryan Smith who has appeared as a legal commentator on many networks. He specializes in entertainment law and hosted a show on BET called “My Two Cents.”

The new “In Session” will feature reports from Beth Karas, who has been with the network since 1994.

In Session has also named three contributors: Mike Brooks, who will be the network’s law enforcement analyst, Midwin Charles and Sunny Hostin.

truTV remains based in New York but the daytime production “In Session,” which airs from 9amET-3pmET is shifting from studios in New York to studios in Atlanta. The production team in Atlanta is part of HLN.

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He was let go Nov. 20, 2006 for what he calls a “fraudulent performance issue.”

Jefferson and a co-worker, Ryan Smith, were severely injured in a gay-bashing attack on the island of St. Martin in April 2006.

CBS responded to the suit calling it a “vicious and unconscionable attack on Mason’s character.” Jefferson says he “would be glad to call as witnesses every correspondent and anchor, past and present” should the case go to trial.

Jefferson claims he was unduly fired for bringing too much unwanted attention to his case. In the days after the attack, he appeared on “Good Morning America”, MSNBC and Viacom’s gay-themed channel Logo.

When asked about CBS News paying thousands of dollars to airlift Jefferson and Smith from their vacation to receive proper treatment, Jefferson says “I am very grateful, Ryan owes his life to that decision” but that’s “not what this is about, this is about Linda (who Jefferson calls a mentor) saying it’s my job to protect CBS News.”

“I tried to explain to Sean (McManus, President of CBS News & Sports) that the lawsuit is not my personal vendetta against the company, they are family, it was really weird, like being kicked out of your family.”

Ryan Smith still works with CBS News at its newsmagazine “48 Hours.”

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