KTLA takes care of the Times *

Last night's KTLA "News at Ten" found time to report on the L.A. Times annual in-house editorial awards dinner, held over the weekend at the Beverly Wilshire. Odd news judgment -- or cross-promotion -- for the Tribune-owned station, since the Times itself doesn't even consider it newsworthy or announce the award winners. It's essentially a company picnic in nice digs, with free dinner and open bar and prizes for employees of the year.

Channel 5 skipped the highlight, a Schwarzenegger impersonator who came out and, I'm told, joked he was filling in for Martha Stewart (who was "booked"). He ribbed columnist Steve Lopez for the bicycle accident that cost him his driver's license -- something about Cruz Bustamante being sent to be his driver -- and said the state was buying the paper and replacing Editor John Carroll with Gray Davis.

* Update: Among the awards was a Publisher's Prize for the staff's recall coverage. Editors were reportedly proud enough of the body of work on the recall to submit it for Pulitzer consideration; if so, it didn't make the finalists. This was the coverage that incited allegations of bias against Schwarzenegger and prompted much media thumb-sucking, and that prompted at least 9,000 subscribers to cancel. (Many have since returned.)