Recession be damned, the Paley Center for Media held their annual Gala Dinner at Cipriani 42nd in New York last night, raising over $1 million for the center’s “ongoing efforts to increase the public’s understanding of the media and its growing significance in today’s society through public and industry programs.”

Scripps Networks Interactive Chairman of the Board, President & Chief Executive Officer Ken Lowe and WPP Chief Executive Sir Martin Sorrell were the evening’s honorees.

Sorrell, whose WPP includes PR firms Burson-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton among its holdings, is more optimistic than some marketing communications execs when it comes to global economic conditions. He told those in attendance that he thinks things will pick up, “maybe in the second half of this year.” In terms of the three main areas of focus for the company, he said they fall under emerging markets, “consumer insights,” referencing the acquisition of TNS, and “new media.”

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