June
22 Award Night: Bob Woodruff, Ana Garcia and Lots of Zell Jokes

Being honored by the Los Angeles Press Club last night, former ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff said that his wife wouldn't let him return to Iraq and that he had a "10% chance" of going to Afghanistan.

Instead, he's been covering returning Iraqi vets and raising money for his foundation, which specializes in helping members of the armed forces with serious head injuries. Woodruff was nearly killed and suffered several head injuries when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle in Iraq in January, 2006.

Woodruff was the winner of the Daniel Pearl Award at the club's 50th annual dinner, held at the Biltmore in downtown L.A. Other highlights included KNBC anchor Ana Garcia, who, while receiving the Joseph M. Quinn Lifetime Achievement Award, said that  it was especially  emotional to receive the honor because  she started kindergarten not knowing a word of English, having emigrated to the U.S. from Spain when she was a young girl.

And Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, receiving the President's Award, was especially biting toward Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell and his chief innovation executive, Lee Abrams, the latter of whom has been the subject of much amusement with his string of effusive e-mails that unintentionally reveal how little he knows about the newspaper business and Los Angeles. For instance, Lopez insisted that Abrams was not aware that the Times had correspondents in Baghdad.

Of particular amusement was Lopez's recounting of his visit to Zell's Malibu beach home, hoping to befriend the new owner of the Tribune. It provoked an angry response from his new boss, who later told him. "Stay the fuck away from my home!"

Los Angeles Times editor Russ Stanton was in the audience, and seemed to take it all in stride.

KTLA's Stan Chambers, who has been reporting on the air for 60 years, accepted a special honor for late anchor Hal Fishman, for whom the evening was dedicated.

The program book also took note of the death of Tim Russert. That was the subject of one of the more uncomfortable moments of the evening, when emcee Harry Shearer tried to crack a few one-liners about the excessive coverage of the NBC personality's death. Few laughed.

To mark the 50th year of the ceremony, longtime L.A. newsman Buster Sussman was also honored. he joined the LAPC shortly after it was formed in 1947.

By the way Wilshire & Washington was nominated for best website from a news organization, but the top prize went to Reason Online. Second was W&W, following by LATimes.com with honorable mention.