The one jab that never fails to elicit laughs from conservatives is the one about MSNBC and how “nobody” watches it. There was a lot of that at last night’s Media Research Center gala.

MRC, a conservative media watchdog org, celebrated its 25th anniversary and presented its tongue-in-cheek Dishonors awards at the National Building Museum.

Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham presented the first two awards, one of which was the “Obamagasm” award. The nominees were MSNBC’s Chris Matthews (“Isn’t it a surprise when you see him talking about Obama and he still has his clothes on?” Ingraham said.), ABC’s Diane Sawyer (“of the perpetually heavy breathing voice”) and CNN’s Piers Morgan (“Britain’s own alien life form”). Matthews won for declaring in July that President Obama is “the perfect father, the perfect husband, the perfect American.”

The second award — the “Vast Right-Wing Knuckle-Draggers” award went to MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts, for saying in September 2011 that the GOP wants to build “a time machine, to go back in time…” Ingraham described Roberts as “Thomas no-one’s-ever-heard-of-me Roberts.”

Media bashing was given a rest for the William F. Buckley award for Media Excellence. It was presented by conservative columnist Cal Thomas as a tribute to Andrew Breitbart. The audience gave a standing ovation at the conclusion of Thomas’ remarks.

Two more anti-media awards were given out: The “Damn Those Conservatives to Hell” award (to NBC’s Ann Curry, for her interview with Republican V.P. candidate Paul Ryan in April) and the “Barbara Streisand Political I.Q. Award for Celebrity Vapidity” (to actor Sean Penn, for saying on CNN in October 2011 that the tea party wants to “lynch” Obama).

Finally, MRC President Brent Bozell handed out one last award: “The Worst Reporter in the History of Man” award. This one was chosen by cheers from the audience. It was initially a tie between former CBS anchorman Dan Rather and ABC’s Katie Couric. After a second round of cheers, Couric was named the “winner.” An embarrassing photo of Couric dancing at a private party in 2006 was projected on banners hanging from the ceiling.

The banners were a fixture for awkward photos throughout the evening. To the right was the spaced-out image of RNC Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that displayed when he spoke on stage.

Notables: The Daily Caller‘s Neil Munro, The Heritage Foundation’s Lachlan Markay, Fox News contributor Steven Crowder, The Washington Examiner‘s Philip Klein and Charlie Spiering, Slates David Weigel, The National Review‘s Jonah Goldberg, The Weekly Standard‘s Stephen Hayes, GOP mega donor Foster Friess, WMAL’s Chris Plante and CRC publicists Ashley Morris and Kelley Hudak.

Quotable: “I better put this down.”– An MRC goer who was spotted drinking directly from a champagne bottle. She put the bottle down when she saw us attempting to snap a photo.

Say hello to Lisa Rowan, a fashion blogger for Goodwill of Greater Washington and an online communications consultant. She contributes to the Goodwill’s fashion blog and represents the organization at events and workshops. She also writes about vintage and consignment clothing for Quarterlife202.com. Rowan formerly worked as a Community Host for TBD, but as Robert Allbritton‘s Titanic began to sink, she was laid off in March. She earned a B.A. in history from the University of Maryland and is expected to earn an M.A. in Arts and Liberal Studies from Georgetown in December, 2013. Rowan was kind enough to photograph her favorite item of clothing. She wrote in late one night to say, “I’m back and full of sangria! 1. Dress photo attached. I didn’t even Instagram it, but I did do my best to make the sparkles stand out. It’s tough when all your walls are yellow or ivory. Maybe you can run it through Blingee? 2. Resume attached for your reference. It’s pretty boring. 3. [Re: TBD] I got laid off when everyone else did. I left in mid-March, about halfway through the marathon of last-day ‘happy’ hours. (We called them ‘sad hours.’)” Follow Rowan’s unique, self-deprecating wit on Twitter at @Lisatella. As for her photograph, she says: “Please note that I don’t actually have jaundice and that one of my weak points is naming image files.”

If you were a carbonated beverage, which would you be? Champagne.

How often do you Google yourself? With Google Alerts, self-Googling comes to you!

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor/boss (or vice versa)? “My dad gave me the same advice.”

Who is your favorite working journalist and why? Elizabeth Holmes, style reporter at the Wall Street Journal. She can embrace the fun side of her beat, but has her thumb on related economic issues, too.

Do you have a favorite word? I like a lot of words. Playing favorites would be unfair.

Who would you rather have dinner with – CNN’s Anderson Cooper or ABC’s Katie Couric or Dr. Phil. Tell us why. Anderson Cooper would be the sassiest. And he sounds like a picky eater, which would make me look like a culinary adventurer in comparison.

The Earth’s human population is dying out and you must save it. You will spend a romantic evening with either Gabby Sidibe (“Precious” etc..) or Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas). Who will it be? (Neither is not an option.) Gabby Sidibe. Hollywood!

What swear word do you use most often? Fucking.

You’ve just been told the big news: You get to have your own Sunday morning talk show. Who will be on your roundtable? (Pick four journalists or pundits types.) Ann Curry, Brian Williams, Amanda Hess, The Rev. Al Sharpton. I think Amanda and Al would get along great.

On a serious note for a moment, if you could have dinner with a person who has died, who would it be? Peter Jennings.

Who is your favorite Boybander and why? (Ezzy, Hazy, Weigel, Attackerman, Beutler) Are these not those boys from One Direction?

When you pig out what do you eat? Cookies. So many cookies.

What is your absolute favorite item of clothing in your closet? We want the fabric, the brand, the store and the price if possible. If it’s a certain kind of underwear we don’t want to know about it. On one of my last vintage buying trips to an undisclosed location, I found a slinky evening dress by Palm Beach designer Ann Herwig that’s from some time in the early 1960s. It’s got a scoop neck, an open back, and ivory sequins from shoulder to toe. I bought it for $60, had the zipper repaired, and kept it for myself. God only knows when it will ever make it out of the closet.

Pick one: Mad Men, Scandal or True Blood. Mad Men.

Have you ever had a tarot card reading? No.

Have you ever had a near-death experience? I have felt like death on a number of occasions, but have never actually approached it.

Ever been arrested? No.

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USA TODAY‘s Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page landed a highly sought after interview with NBC “The Today Show” host Ann Curry. She and Curry had a 40-minute phone interview Tuesday, in which Curry was described as “fighting back tears.”

Curry, who has been with the show for 14 years, has a new contract with NBC that will have her covering big world stories, specials and pieces for NBC Nightly News. She admitted to Page that the way she departed “The Today Show” has “hurt deeply.” But well into the piece she recalls wisdom from her father: “My father used to say, ‘Well, Ann, maybe the best thing you’ll ever do, you haven’t even thought of yet.’ And as I think about this, maybe that time is now.”

Not typically on the media beat, we asked how Page landed Curry. Page replied, “Better to ask Ann Curry why she chose USA TODAY for this interview.” She continued, “My experience with people in the news, in politics and elsewhere, is that they are drawn to USA TODAY’s national reach and our reputation for fairness.”

Page then pointed to Washington’s go-to power lawyer for media Bob Barnett as the ultimate possible reason why she got the interview. “I have done some interviews with political authors represented by Bob Barnett, most recently this month with Sen. Marco Rubio on his memoirs, and I believe Bob suggested my name,” she said.

Asked if her desire to interview Curry had anything to do with a sense of female journalistic solidarity, she replied,  “I have so much admiration for Ann Curry not only as a groundbreaker for women but also as a serious journalist. She’s gone after stories in a variety of dangerous and difficult places that don’t get much attention but certainly deserve it. It’s why we went into the business, right?”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) appeared on NBC’s “TODAY” show this morning to rally for women. She told NBC’s Ann Curry that she wants women to earn more, decide more and run more for political office.

The senator hosts a summit today in Manhattan aimed at galvanizing women to become economically empowered.

Gillibrand, who reminds us a lot of actress Renee Zellwegger in this four-minute 41-second clip, also says women make great friends, referring specifically to her close ties to Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). Who needs dogs? “It’s wonderful to have such close friends in Washington,” she told Curry. “You know the joke is always, if you want a friend in Washington buy a dog? Well, it’s not necessarily true because there’s some great girlfriends there.”

Watch here.

Nestled right between JP Morgan Chase Asset Management CEO Mary Callahan Erdoes and GM’s Mary Barra on Forbes’ “Most Powerful Women List” is our very own Greta Van Susteren.  The FNC host was named #75 on the list of 100 top ladies from business, media, politics and entertainment.  Forbes credits Van Susteren’s power to unrivaled access to politicians, high cable news ratings and a rabidly loyal pack of supporters.

“The conservative newscaster is fast, fiery and often controversial, and her husband, John P. Coale, has served as an adviser to Sarah Palin,” says the profile.

Other journos on the list include Arianna Huffington at #32, #44 Christiane Amanpour, #47 Diane Sawyer, Ann Curry at #66, #69 Anna Wintour, and Tina Brown in the 81^st spot.

You can check out the entire list here.

As first reported by NYT, NBC’s White House correspondent Savannah Guthrie will become a new  co-host for the third hour of the “Today” show. NBC announced the news late this morning. With Natalie Morales moving into Ann Curry‘s slot and curry moving into the space being left by a departing Meredith Vieira, there was room for Guthrie to jump in.

Guthrie gushed on Twitter this morning, “Thank you for all the well wishes on Twitter! And congrats to @AnnCurry @NMoralesNBC + biggest of hugs to @meredithvieira.”

For now, we hear Guthrie’s Daily Rundown co-host Chuck Todd will likely do the show solo.

Congrats to Guthrie!

QUOTES of the DAY

Radio reporter spots Wang in Capitol

“Pretty sure I spotted Vera Wang in the Senate chamber elevator hallway. I have no clever hashtag for this.” — NPR’s Audie Cornish in a Tuesday tweet. (Although TBD Editor Erik Wemple thought he saw NBC’s Ann Curry last week at the pre-reception for the Radio & TV Association’s Congressional Correspondents’ Dinner. And the woman looked nothing like Curry. So we’re skeptical, but will give Cornish the benefit of the doubt.)

The Observer

“I’m getting reports that Paul Ryan looks less like Eddie Munster today.” — Red State and CNN Contributor Erick Erickson in a Tuesday tweet regarding Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Disturbing Headline of Day

“Dozens Of Dead Cats Found At Herndon Home” (WUSA9)

We hope it’s chocolate ice cream

“I’m in the process of summoning the emotional strength to read The Pale King, which I know is going to take an ice cream scoop to my soul.” — The Nation‘s Washington Bureau Chief Chris Hayes in a Tuesday tweet.

White House blogger or fashion consultant?

“Dung-colored, high-waisted shorts. Anthropologie, why are you still in business?” — Politico‘s Julie Mason in a Tuesday Facebook update.

Journo Praise

“I could watch Brokaw and @Mitchellreports talk foreign policy on TV all day. It’s like your two favorite professors holding court.” — NBC Congressional Correspondent Luke Russert in a Tuesday tweet.

Sage advice

“BREAKING: when ur up late commentating election results, don’t eat three day old Chinese take out.” — TalkingPointsMemo Editor Josh Marshall in an early Wednesday morning tweet.

Hollywood are you listening?

“Waiting for Boehner. Seriously. That’s not a movie pitch.” — “The Takeaway’s” Capitol Hill radio correspondent Todd Zwillich in a Tuesday tweet.

It’s incurable. The song is stuck in our heads — “I like to move move move move….Cause I told you once/I told you twice…”

Taio Cruz‘s “Dynamite” is now horrifyingly burned into our memories. But it’s not Cruz’s voice we hear — it’s Matt, Al, Meredith, Ann — and Ed. Earlier in the week, NBC’s Today Show hosts Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Ann Curry and Meredith Viera sung the tune. Of course some think their polished version pales in comparison to the recent live performance by CNN’s Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry. He belted out, let’s say, a brave, uninhibited performance, with his son and daughter at Capitol Karaoke at the Rock N Roll Hotel.

Henry offered an American Idol type critique of the NBC hosts: “It was a good effort by Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al but their cover version is just a little too slow tempo for my kids. The Today Show team should keep their day jobs because they can’t hold a candle – or a stick of Dynamite I guess – to my Mila and Patrick.”

Watch NBC’s performance here.

If you’re lucky enough to ever have a conversation with Bob Schieffer, chances are he can’t go two or three minutes without mentioning Fort Worth, TCU or the Bullfrogs.

Well it was all TCU for Schieffer this week. The venerable “Face the Nation” anchor was back in his hometown of Fort Worth for the annual “Schieffer Symposium” at Texas Christian University’s School of Journalism, aptly named the Schieffer School of Journalism.

Bob was joined by some of the industry’s best- NBC’s Ann Curry, NYT‘s Maureen Dowd, Michael Eisner and the Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol- for a conversation on the state of journalism.

Of course, Schieffer’s old paper, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, was there to cover it. Check out some of their report after the jump…

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