We know where Fox Business Network correspondent Sandra Smith will be tonight. The LSU grad will be watching her Tigers play for the National Championship against Alabama. And tomorrow morning, she’ll be back at the iconic Chicago Board of Trade building, with her picks for The Trade, her daily segment. As we found out in the first part of our Media Beat interview, the Chicago native is a rare breed of business correspondents who splits her time between the Chicago pits and Wall Street.

Part II, tomorrow: Making the move from trader to reporter
Part III, Wednesday: How being an LSU athlete prepared Sandra Smith for the real world

• This video can also be viewed on the mediabistro YouTube Channel.

The time has come. The very first March Madness games are underway, and with them, comes the 2011 TVNewser bracket challenge.

Last year we had executive producers from across the TV news landscape make their picks, with “BBC World News America” EP Rome Hartman emerging victorious.

Hartman is back this year to defend his crown, but we opened the field up to all senior executives, executive producers and talent.

One thing we learned: “The Early Show” crew sticks together, and CNBCers love their college basketball.

Who are our players? Find out after the jump.

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Last night’s “Insider” featured a “behind the scenes” segment about a handful of female Fox News talent, including FNC’s Megyn Kelly and Harris Faulkner and FBN’s Jenna Lee and Sandra Smith. Video below (sorry for the audio sync issue, we didn’t upload it):

Fox Business reporter Sandra Smith explains how growing up an athlete has helped her succeed as a business reporter and why sports are particularly important for girls: “We need sports to make us aggressive, test our limits, boost our confidence, and teach us the strength of a good team.”

Columbia Journalism Review’s Clint Hendler writes about the FBN Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits, of which they have recently seen the first steps toward a victory.

“It’s for you folks, we are doing it for you,” said anchor David Asman in announcing the judge’s ruling on-air. “We are your eyes. We’re looking out for you, literally.”

FBN EVP Kevin Magee tells the CJR the lawsuits are “not a wild publicity stunt.” Instead: “We are trying to differentiate ourselves from that which is out there. One of the ways that we want to differentiate ourselves is to tell our audience that we are trying to protect their interests. We think that’s a wide-open field. CNBC seems to always be the friend of the CEO and that’s fine, nothing wrong with that…But we also believe that as journalists, we have to ask difficult questions.”

• Related: FBN’s Sandra Smith was profiled in her hometown paper, The Wheaton Sun (IL). “People that have been victims of fraud and maybe lost their nest egg are devastated, and you realize there are these really sensitive subjects,” she said. “Getting the real story involves somewhat of a balancing act. You have to show the person you care about them and that this isn’t just about fulfilling someone else’s agenda.”

Fox Business Network’s Sandra Smith spent much of yesterday outside Bernie Madoff‘s apartment, reporting on his first time leaving the building in weeks. But she also gave “some color” at 4pmET yesterday — about NBC’s Matt Lauer.

“Matt Lauer just walked up to the building, he lives in Bernie Madoff’s building, had a scuffle with the media and next thing we know, police are down here trying to regulate the scene,” said Smith.

An NBC spokesperson tells TVNewser, “This report is incorrect,” saying the police activity had nothing to do with Lauer.

Smith reported Lauer was with his son at the time. “Ah Manhattan, you gotta love Manhattan,” said anchor David Asman.

Other publications have noted that Lauer lives in the same building as Madoff, including Fortune which took a closer look at the Upper East Side luxury building.

> Update: An FBN spokesperson tells TVNewser, “Sandra fully stands by her story.”

> Webnewser has the video of a Dennis Kneale joke about Steve Jobs that didn’t exactly go over well on CNBC this afternoon. He later apologized.

> Fox Business Network had exclusive video today of Bernie Madoff leaving his apartment to attend a bail hearing. It was the first time he left his apartment “in a couple weeks,” according to FBN’s Sandra Smith. Update: CNN also had video of him leaving his apartment, which it played throughout the afternoon.

> CNN’s Anderson Cooper is currently reporting/anchoring from Israel. “If we had a choice we’d be on the ground in Gaza, but the Israeli government won’t let reporters get any closer,” writes Cooper on the AC360 blog.