Early Rise

Hell, if I were the guy who wasn't gonna get to sit next to Betty Nguyen anymore, I'd be begging too.

Popeater: Honeymooning TJ Holmes Begs Betty Nguyen To Stay at CNN/3.8.10

Bet his new wife loved that.

I will say this, though: The TV news business has more than its share of really rotten people, the exploits of whom I've occasionally chronicled here, at the Huffington Post and so on. Maybe that's why when you run into somebody you truly like -- someone who's not simply an inarguable talent but a genuinely good person -- you want to shout his or her praises from the rooftops.

Hence, what I'm happy to do for Betty.

She's leaving CNN to head over to CBS, where she'll be anchoring the CBS Morning News and reporting for the Early Show -- and I couldn't be more thrilled for her. Betty's a total sweetheart -- one of the nicest and most professional people I've ever had the pleasure of working with. She filled in for Daryn Kagan quite a bit back when I was senior producer on CNN Live Today and she was always a joy to be around. No, I never thought of her as an adherent to the tough-as-nails journalism model, but for on-air and off-air likability -- which is king in the morning -- there's nobody better. And yeah, she's breathtakingly gorgeous, but maybe one of the most respectable qualities about her is that she's never let that go to her head.

I'm so happy for her and I think it's fair to say that CBS scored big in its decision to bring her aboard, so good for them.

And good for Betty.