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CBS News “60 Minutes Sports” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi gave the commencement address at Meek School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss. It’s being called inspiring, hilarious and a brutally honest look at the TV news business.

Alfonsi, a 1994 Ole Miss grad, began with a joke about another alum. “I know the one and only reason I am here is because Shepard Smith was clearly not available.”

With changes all around for journalism and what it means to be a journalist, Alfonsi’s thesis was this: “Do NOT take no for an answer.”

You are applying for work in journalism, not trying to get hired as a social secretary. The people who may hire you respect grit. They respect tenacity, and in my experience, I have found they are generally unlikely to issue a restraining order. Prove that you want it. The food court at the mall is littered with journalism students who didn’t fight for it. Fight for it.

Watch after the jump…

> Related: TVNewser’s 2013 Guide to Commencement Speakers

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• Katie Couric‘s daytime talk show is adding to its executive ranks after losing EP Jeff Zucker to CNN, according to THR’s Marisa Guthrie. Ethan Nelson and Matt Strauss have been named co-EPs. Nelson comes from ABC News, where he oversaw “Good Afternoon America,” while Strauss gets a bump from producer.

• Speaking of Katie Couric, Larry King responded to Couric’s recollection of a date they had together on Ora TV. He says it didn’t exactly turn out the way she said it did, and asked Jimmy Kimmel for equal time to give his side of the story.

• ABC News chief investigative producer Richard Esposito is leaving the network for NBC, according to Dylan Byers at Politico. He is yet another long-time ABC talent to depart in the last few weeks, following Chris Cuomo, Jake Tapper and Sharyn Alfonsi.

CNN and ABC News have made it official: ABC anchor Chris Cuomo is joining the cable channel to host a new morning program.

“Chris is an accomplished anchor who is already an established name in morning television, as well as a widely respected investigative journalist,” said CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker in a statement. “What I love about Chris is that he is passionate about every story he tells, never forgets about the viewer, and represents the type of journalism that makes CNN great.”

As for Soledad O’Brien, who has held down the morning shift for the last year on “Starting Point,” it seems her future with the network is up in the air: “Soledad is very important to the network, and we’re discussing various options with her,” a CNN spokesperson says.

Cuomo had been the anchor of ABC’s “20/20″ and the network’s chief legal correspondent. With his jump to CNN he will be returning to the morning shift he once held when he was the news anchor at “Good Morning America” from 2006-2009. Before joining ABC News in 2000, he was a correspondent at Fox News Channel.

He is the third significant ABCer to leave the network in the last month. White House correspondent Jake Tapper jumped to CNN in December, with correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi leaving for “60 Minutes Sports” earlier this month.

Cuomo, the brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, broke out from his family’s political legacy and forged his own in the media business. Andrew Cuomo confirmed that his younger brother was leaving for CNN while calling in to an Albany radio station this morning.

CNN is in the midst of redefining itself under Zucker. CNN executive VP and managing editor Mark Whitaker announced his decision to leave the network this morning.

Zucker’s memo to CNN staff after the jump.

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ABC News “20/20″ anchor Chris Cuomo is planning to jump to CNN, according to TMZ.

The gossip site says that Cuomo will host a new morning program for the cable channel, potentially alongside Erin Burnett. Cuomo has been a stalwart at ABC since 2000, in both primetime and in the mornings, where he was the news anchor for “Good Morning America” from 2006-2009. If TMZ is correct, he would be returning to the early shift.

If Cuomo leaves it will be the third major on-air talent to leave ABC for CNN in the last year. John Berman and Jake Tapper switched to the cable network last year. Berman is currently at the anchor chair in the early mornings on the channel. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi also departed ABC for “60 Minutes Sports” earlier this month. Andrea Canning left ABC for NBC last year as well.

Credit: CBS News

ABC News correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi is joining Showtime’s ”60 Minutes Sports” as a contributor, TVNewser has learned.

The move is something of a homecoming for Alfonsi, who had been a correspondent and anchor for CBS News before leaving in 2008 for ABC. CBS News’ “60 Minutes” co-produces “60 Minutes Sports,” the sports newsmagazine that airs on its sister network Showtime.

Alfonsi has been a New York-based correspondent at ABC since 2008.  She was an anchor for CBS affiliate WBZ-TV in Boston before joining the parent network.

At ABC she recently worked on the network’s “Made in America” series, as well as a year-long investigation on “Generation Meds.” Those two efforts were noted in an email ABC News president Ben Sherwood sent to staff this afternoon (read it after the jump).

Alfonsi is the second high-profile ABC correspondent to depart in the last few weeks. The network’s White House correspondent Jake Tapper announced his move to CNN last month.
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Following a year-long investigation ABC “World News” anchor Diane Sawyer and correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi report on foster children who are being prescribed mind-altering drugs at alarming rates — up to 13 times higher than that of other children. The first report called “Generation Meds” airs tonight on “World News” and will conclude with a “20/20” special this Friday.

This is the third series of reports from Sawyer on the foster care system. Sawyer’s first report, “For the Sake of the Children,” aired on “Primetime” in 2002. The second “Primetime” report, “Calling All Angels,” aired in 2006 and was recognized with the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

As David Muir tells it, ABC’s “Made in America” series was borne out of a desire to reflect an American audience worried about a stagnant economy and “hungry for solutions.”

“We can all do the typical pieces on the economy, and the jobs numbers, probably every night,” Muir tells TVNewser. “We were looking for a way that could tell the story of this economy in a way people could relate to and connect to. And everybody knows what the three words ‘Made in America’ mean.”

The ongoing series, which Muir and Sharyn Alfonsi report for “ABC World News,” was launched this spring to showcase American manufacturing, the economy and the ordinary things that can be done to create jobs in the U.S. Read more

ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer” continues the “Made in America” series tonight with the focus on American car manufacturing. David Muir and Sharyn Alfonsi report on which car company creates the most American jobs.

Launched this Spring, the “Made in America” series has helped the bottom lines companies they’ve featured. The Vaughan-Bassett furniture company says they saw a 1,600% increase in inquiries and received more orders in two weeks than they had in 6 months. Another furniture company L.J. Gascho went from 35 to 60 employees because of an uptick in sales.

Your TVNewsers are over at the mediabistro.com holiday lunch right now (posting will resume later). So, this is a good time to size up some of the other holiday parties.

Barbara Walters and “The View” EP Bill Geddie played Santa this week, putting up the dough for the show’s holiday party Tuesday night. The cast, crew, and producers took over P.D. O’Hurley’s on New York’s Upper West Side.

A “View” insider tells TVNewser, “Barbara, looking very festive in a gorgeous red top and skirt boogied on the dance floor with Bill Geddie and Sherri Shepherd.” Last night on Larry King’s final show, Walters said her voice was still hoarse from the party.

NBC News/MSNBC had their holiday party Wednesday night at the home of “Saturday Night Live.” “It was a blast!,” an NBC insider tells us. “A great party… great turn-out.”

DJ Chris Witherspoon kept Studio 8H rockin’ with NBC/MSNBCnewsers dancing until 11, long enough so MSNBC’s primetime staffers could attend. Anchors Lester Holt, Amy Robach, Lawrence O’Donnell, and Ed Shultz, as well as NBC News president and Steve Capus showed off their interactive music skills during a Rock Band face-off.

CBS News shows celebrated this week too. The “48 Hours” crew partied Tuesday night at a loft in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric was rumored to host a more low-key holiday lunch at midtown restaurant Fresco by Scotto. Not true.

Did we miss any? Updates are after the jump…

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The Juan Williams NPR firing, in the context of the perception of Muslims in America as well as other journalists who’ve lost their jobs recently, lead two of the three evening newscasts last night: ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer” with a story reported by Sharyn Alfonsi and the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” in a story reported by Ben Tracy.

“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” covered the story about halfway through the broadcast in a story reported by Mike Taibbi. The evening newscasts are watched by an average of 16 million people every night. We’ll have ratings for Williams’s “O’Reilly Factor” appearance later this afternoon.

Watch all three evening news stories after the jump…

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