This year, the lunchtime event moved from the Waldorf Astoria to the Plaza Hotel.

The 18 people are standouts in their fields (TV, radio, and newspapers). But this was all about the great WNBC anchor Sue Simmons, who stepped down last June.

Most of the presenters and award winners mentioned Simmons in their speeches, or ad libbed, due to her remarkable career and presence.

Ironically, John Noel, a reporter with WNBC since 1998, never mentioned Sue’s name in accepting his trophy. FishbowlNY did speak to Noel, a Brooklyn native, about sharing this year’s class with his former colleague.

“If you’re going to call anybody a legend in the media here in New York City, clearly she qualifies for the title,” Noel says. “She’s known and loved by millions of people in the metropolitan area. Much of what she’s done on the air remains legendary.”

The full list of winners after the jump

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

TVNewser: Don Lemon is not amused with cable news.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

TVNewser: Someone paid $1,050 for a date with CNN’s Don Lemon. That sounds like a lot, but he does have a nice smile.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

That morning, Max announced on his ESPN 1050/WEPN early morning show that he was gay.

“I had to do this for myself,” Max admits. “I’m 37 now [at] what point do I say, ‘This is the one life we know we’re going to have, what the hell am I keeping quiet for? Why am I doing this to myself?”

Max, who came out to his mother when he was 21, was ready to make peace on a larger scale thanks to his cats.
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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Today on the mediabistro.com Morning Media Menu podcast, host Matt Van Hoven of AgencySpy and special guest host TVNewser‘s Kevin Allocca “CNN Newsroom” anchor Don Lemon, who discussed user-generated content, Twitter and blogs and how he uses them on his show.

“I’ve been using it on the show now for over a year,” Lemon said of user-generated news. “I think Rick [Sanchez] and I were the first two to use it. I actually had a personal [Twitter] account and sort of pitched it but didn’t do it on the air…We use Twitter, we use Facebook, I use whatever resource is available. I’ll use iReports, I’ll use my own…I went to Blog World last week and took a camera and shoot little vignettes and put them on the air. However I can get material, as long as it can be vetted and its real, I’ll take it from anywhere.”

Lemon also got a chance to tell some stories about his trip to Las Vegas last week for the Blog World Expo, where he focused his coverage on the death of print journalism and the future of newspapers. Lemon also helped to launch the Twitter trending topic #bcancer, which remained the top trending topic on Twitter for four days and helped raise money for breast cancer while creating a Guinness World Record, he said. “It’s really crazy how social media takes the power of an idea to the next level,” he said.

And what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay there for this anchorman. Stay tuned until minute 27 to find out what we mean.

You can listen to all the past podcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/mediabistro and call in at 646-929-0321.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.