As TVNewser first heard back in April, CNBC has named Kelly Evans as a new co-anchor on “Squawk on the Street,” the business channel’s 9 AM-12 PM program. Evans will effectively be replacing Melissa Lee, who cut back her hours on the morning program last month. She will be joining the current “Squawk” team, which includes Carl Quintanilla, Jim Cramer, David Faber and Simon Hobbs.

Evans is moving to CNBC’s headquarters in New Jersey from London, where she has been the co-host of ‘Worldwide Exchange,” which airs from 4-6 AM on the east coast. She joined CNBC in February, 2012 from the Wall Street Journal, adding co-anchor duties to “Worldwide Exchange” in May of that year.

CNBC senior VP Nik Deogun made the Evans announcement in a note to staff this morning. Read it below.
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First on TVNewser: Melissa Lee (left) is cutting back her anchoring duties at CNBC. Lee is moving off the 9amET show “Squawk on the Street” which he has co-anchored since Erin Burnett‘s departure almost two years ago.

“Melissa is an integral part of the network and wanted to focus on ‘Fast Money’ the 5PM show she has hosted since 2009 as well as work on other projects including her upcoming documentary on the industrial Internet,” a CNBC spokesperson tells TVNewser.

TVNewser hears Kelly Evans who joined CNBC from the Wall Street Journal last year and who currently anchors “Worldwide Exchange” from London, will be returning to CNBC HQ in the coming weeks and could land at “Squawk” alongside Carl Quintanilla, David Faber, Simon Hobbs and Jim Cramer. But no definitive plans are in place, insiders say.

People across the country today participated in “Spirit Day,” wearing purple as a sign of support for LGBT youth. The movement, started by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, counted several visible people as champions of the anti-bullying cause: morning anchors, evening anchors and cable anchors on several networks were color-coordinated today.

On the morning shows:

On ABC’s “Good Morning America,” George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts participated, as did Ann Curry and Al Roker on NBC’s “Today.” All four co-hosts on “The View” — Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck — were decked out in purple as well.

After the jump, see who on the evening news and who on cable participated. Read more

Some changes are coming to CNBC’s business block starting next Monday.

CNBC’s 11am show “The Call” (formerly known as “Morning Call”) which has been anchored by Melissa Francis and Larry Kudlow will be replaced by an extra hour of “Squawk on the Street,” TVNewser has learned. The new hour will be anchored by Carl Quintanilla from the NYSE, accompanied by Simon Hobbs, Rick Santelli, Gary Kaminsky and others. Kaminsky, along with David Faber, had been been fronting the network’s NoonET half hour “Strategy Session” which has also been canceled.

“Fast Money Halftime Report”goes to an hour at NoonET and will continue to be anchored by Scott Wapner.

Kudlow continues to host is 7pmET show and Francis will now co-anchor “Power Lunch” with Tyler Mathisen and Sue Herrera at 1pmET. As we reported last week, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera is moving off “Power Lunch” and has been named CNBC’s International Correspondent.

Internal memo from SVP and EIC Nik Deogun, after the jump…

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As of 11 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 400 points. Just after the markets opened however, there was some fireworks on CNBC between Jim Cramer and Simon Hobbs.

Cramer compared the situation in Europe to Lehman Brothers, and Hobbes responded that by even suggesting that, the markets could respond negatively.

Then Hobbs brings up Cramer’s disastrous Bear Stearns advice, and…well…watch:

This week saw the business networks in varying states of continuing coverage as the markets unpredictably swung between positive and negative territory. Market coverage will continue into the weekend for all three.

Fox Business Network will be live tonight at 8 p.m. with a special report called “Market Chaos” anchored by Neil Cavuto. Cavuto will also be back on the air tomorrow morning on Fox News Channel, anchoring a live “Cost of Freedom” business block from 10 a.m. to noon.

CNBC will air “Special Report: Markets in Turmoil” on Sunday night at 8 p.m. Tyler Mathisen, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera and Simon Hobbs will anchor.

Bloomberg TV will pick up the Bloomberg Asia feed beginning at 7 p.m. ET Sunday night, as the Asian markets open. They will switch over to the Europe feed from 12 a.m. – 6 a.m. ET on Monday morning.

In the wake of a 500-point market selloff this afternoon, the business networks are planning extended coverage well into the evening tonight. On CNBC, Brian Sullivan, Simon Hobbs and Amanda Drury will anchor “Special Report: Markets in Turmoil” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. David Asman will anchor coverage on Fox Business Network at 9 p.m. with a special edition of “America’s Nightly Scoreboard” called “Special Report: Market Selloff.”

CNBC has decided on its new anchors for the 2-hour “Squawk on the Street” morning show. The business channel is tapping several veterans to fill the seat left vacant following the death May 25th of longtime anchor Mark Haines and the departure three weeks earlier of co-anchor Erin Burnett, now at CNN.

CNBC SVP Nik Deogun announced that starting tomorrow, Melissa Lee and Carl Quintanilla will co-anchor the show, with contributions from Jim Cramer, Simon Hobbs and David Faber.

As part of the changes, Quintanilla moves off “Squawk Box,” with a rotating group of anchors filling in on the network’s signature morning show alongside Joe Kernen and Becky Quick.

Lee continues with “Fast Money” at 5pm. Also, Scott Wapner has been named permanent anchor of “Fast Money Halftime Report” seen at 12:30pmET.

Cramer, who continues hosting “Mad Money,” will appear in the 9amET of “Squawk on the Street,” while Hobbs, who has been filling in on SoS, will co-anchor the 10amET hour with Lee and Quintanilla.

More details in Deogun’s note to staff, obtained by TVNewser, after the jump…

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Joe Kernen, Carl Quintanilla and David Faber hosted last night’s tribute special to Mark Haines, who died Tuesday night. A cause of death has not been revealed. Kernen and Faber were fixtures with Haines on the original “Squawk Box” in the early days of CNBC.

Scott Cohn reported the lead-off obituary story, which had a technical glitch midway through, the remainder of which was played later.

Haines’ co-hosts over the years on “Squawk on the Street”, Melissa Lee, Simon Hobbs, and Erin Burnett, who left CNBC earlier this month, all shared memories of Haines from the floor of the NYSE — showing video of his office, including a shirt which still had its IFB cord hanging from the collar.

Jim Cramer, host of “Mad Money” talked about when he joined the network: “I was a nobody. Haines made me somebody.”

The commercial-free special, in its entirety, after the jump…

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A week after Erin Burnett left her perch at CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” her temp replacement Simon Hobbs got an earful from Donald Trump. It stems from today’s Michael Barbaro story in The New York Times.

The conversation started with anchor Mark Haines asking Trump about the piece, and got heated when Hobbs drilled Trump further about how this all factors in with his potential run for president.

But it was mostly Trump ferociously trashing the story, the New York Times, Barbaro, (who was supposed to be on as well, but canceled at the last minute) even NBC’s investigative correspondent: “Michael Isikoff is one of the worst reporters that I’ve ever done business with,” said Trump who was on by phone.

At one point, Trump says, “I’m a big fan of Mark [Haines], then, about Hobbs, “I don’t know who I’m talking to here.” “That’s Simon,” says Haines. “Okay Simon. Hello Simon. Whoever you are Simon.”

(h/t Business Insider)