Deep fried shrimp tacos, burgers topped with fresh avocado, and crispy fries with Cajun seasoning.  Does the appearance of a catering truck really matter when you’re about to place an order?  Maybe it depends on which side of the tracks you’re from.  See what business executives at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank had to say in this L.A. Weekly piece.

Seafood taco by Prime Time Cuisine by Anne Fishbein for L.A. Weekly

The Radio and Television News Association of Southern California posted their decision while I was away from the newsroom. I’m at U.C. taking a weeklong Knight Digital 2.0 Web training. The story I won two awards for is about when the free Remote Access Medical set up a week long clinic at the Forum in Inglewood. It’s a crossover hit: Best Serious Feature and Best News Reporting!

Listen here:
http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/08/11/remote-area-medical-sets-temporary-clinic-inside-i/

RTNAD’s complete list of 2009 winners here:
http://www.rtna.org/GoldenMikeAwards/09winners.asp

The IWMF stands for International Women’s Media Foundation. I went to their annual awards dinner last night. It was really inspirational! CNN Anchor Campbell Brown was the Mistress of Ceremonies. David Geffen was event chair.

The Award Presenters were:
Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She’s also the Courage Chair and a founder member of the organization. It celebrates its 20th anniversary next year.

Angie Harmon, actress/activist, formally of Law and Order

Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief , The Huffington Post

The dinner itself was delicious. Organizers assigned tables, but then guests were free to choose where they wanted to sit. Caterers arranged a salad a dessert plate at each seat. The desserts alternated between Creme brulee and Lemon Marange Pie. I had Creme Brulee and it was yummy! The crowd was mostly women: professors, some students and journalists from all sorts of news organizations: The AP, Reuters, and me, KPCC!

Here are some pictures!

Russian Journalist in Moscow

This is a funny video from a short flight I took inside a WWII-era plane. My friend, Marianela in Buenos Aires talked me into it!

With news organizations beginning to create special positions to manage the use of social media tools, such as the recently appointed social editor at The New York Times, journalism schools are starting to recognize the need to integrate social media into their curricula. That doesn’t mean having a class on Facebook or Twitter, which many college students already know inside and out, but instead means that professors are delving into how these tools can be applied to enrich the craft of reporting and producing the news and ultimately telling the story in the best possible way.

And though many professors are still experimenting and learning how these tools can be used, below are the 10 ways journalism schools are currently teaching students to use social media. Please share in the comments others that you have found to be important and effective as well.

Read Entire Article Here: http://mashable.com/2009/06/19/teaching-social-media/