SteveK

Sports and social media have collided recently, with athletes and their tweets drawing major media attention. New Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari broke the news that Jodie Meeks would remain in the NBA draft on Twitter. On Tuesday, Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Kevin Love made a rookie Twitter mistake — tweeting that his coach, Kevin McHale, wasn’t returning to the team before the organization was prepared to go public with the news.

We saw Duke basketball coach Michael Krzyzewski (“Coach K”) at the 68th Annual “Father of the Year” awards lunch in New York today, and asked for his thoughts. “It’s an individual choice,” he tells WebNewser. “I do not choose to be a part of that.”

Coach K did say “People on our staff” are active on the micro-blogging site, but he wasn’t budging.

“I still want to watch the news at night and be surprised,” he said.

The Diggnation team stopped by MSNBC’s Digital Cafe to tape an episode of their popular web show, and Rachel Maddow served as guest bartender for hosts Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. She served up some “breakfast cocktails” while the hosts talked Xbox and more:

“Now more than every, it is important for our media professionals to look themselves in the mirror and ask the tough questions.”

This is how Lorraine Branham, Dean of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, began today’s Mirror Awards luncheon in New York. The room was packed with “media professionals,” and many SU alum, like event emcee Contessa Brewer of MSNBC and Morning Joe EP Chris Licht, who was at our table and served as a judge.

The categories were split into “digital” and “traditional” media, prompting Chris Ahearn, a presenter, to say, “I look forward to the day when we don’t have to make that distinction.” Here are all the winners.

Arianna Huffington was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and described her reason for creating The Huffington Post and the future of media. “Are people going to keep trying to reinvent the past or are they going to embrace the future?” she asked.

• FishbowlNY has more.

Last night’s marathon Webby Awards featured what seemed like an endless stream of awards — while speeches were held to just five words (some media-related speeches after the jump).

Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers had the task of keeping the event moving, and the crowd entertained. “I love when old media praises new media,” he said. “It’s like when an old guy says how much he likes the tennis pro his wife is fucking.”

Meyers sprinkled in several Twitter references, including one about the guy who tweets as his cat (and has 600,000+ followers). “Just think: five years ago if you wanted to know what a guy thinks his cat is thinking you’d be an idiot,” said Meyers.

Later, he took a swipe at the new Microsoft (a sponsor of the event) search engine. “Bing, as in ‘Hey I just Googled Bing,” he said.

Before the event we talked to Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who has turned to his Twitter base of fans to raise money for a person in need of a heart transplant. He described how getting sober helped lead him to Twitter and social media charity work:



Click continued to see a selection of media acceptance speeches…

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NBC News and Three Part Media LLC have teamed to launch TheGrio.com, a “video centric news site” aimed at the African American community.

The site will aggregate related video and news stories from NBC News, O&Os, affiliates and msnbc.com, as well as feature contributors like Rev. Al Sharpton.

The Website’s managing editor is David Wilson, who was profiled in an MSNBC documentary last year. Ford Motor Company has signed on as the exclusive sponsor during the Website’s launch.

Click continued to see the release…

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Well folks, we’re on to Round 2.

Last week I asked for your vote in the “I’m a Blogger…Get Me Out of Here!” contest, which runs in conjunction with NBC’s “I’m a Celebrity…”

With enough votes in Round 1, I’m now in the final six — and advanced to the “offal” stage of competition. What’s offal? Watch the video blog below, and please vote so I can report for WebNewser from the jungle of Costa Rica!…

It took just two shows for the new Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to debut a Twitter-related segment. Unlike Jimmy Fallon, who took over for him on Late Night an hour later, it doesn’t appear Conan’s going to be joining the Twittersphere…:

Businessweek.com’s EIC John Byrne took the stage at the Mediabistro Circus and gave the audience his take on what journalism has to become: “A collaboration with the audience at every single level.”

But it was show, not just tell. Byrne gave some of the innovative ways Businessweek.com has engaged its readers, from social networking to high profile commenting.

But there was another method — bribery. “We basically bribe journalists to become involved in the conversation,” he said. “If you want your story to live on the homepage for more than a day, go and respond to readers.”

He also talked about Google. “Google is one giant transaction engine,” he said. “And everyone in business knows, transactions are the enemy of relationships.”

Follow WebNewser on Twitter for all the #mbcircus action, and Byrne here.

The Mediabistro Circus today kicked off with author Keith Ferrazzi, author of the Amazon.com bestseller, “Who’s Got Your Back?” Stressing the need to find “corporate lifelines,” Ferrazzi spoke about the value of mutually beneficial success among colleagues.

“We need someone to have our backs, to help nurture our success,” he said.

To the cellphone and keyboard-using crowd, he said: “What you’re twittering right now, what your blogging about right now, what you’re talking about, is the zeitgeist of our society.”

The journalists in the audience, who he described as “lonely and often cynical,” were encouraged to find groups to explore their personal and professional futures. For himself, it’s “what should I be publishing online? How do I create a new model for the publishing industry?”

Next up was Steve Rubel, SVP, Edelman Digital, who described the way companies are using social media to connect with their customers. He offered a few suggestions — identify “corporate all-stars” in the company already using the tools, and “build digital embassies.”

The embassies would include individuals who fit in both the corporate community and the new media community they’re inhabiting. “Do as many as you can at once with real faces,” said Rubel. “Personal brands are laddering up to corporate brands.”

Follow all the action on Twitter by following WebNewser or searching the #mbcircus hashtag. You can follow Ferrazzi and Rubel as well.

Jess Todtfeld and TJ Walker are currently in the process of breaking the Guinness World Record for most radio interviews in a 24-hour period.

But they’re not just keeping it on the radio — the entire 24-hours are being live streamed on FoxNews.com.

Todtfeld, a former Fox News producer, and Walker are promoting their book, “Secret to Foolproof Presentations,” and appear to have broken the record already. The record stood at 72 before they began today at 6amET, and the duo have done more than 80 as of 6pmET today.

They’ll continue throughout the evening and into the morning, and the live stream continues as well.