The Poynter Institute  will host a Webinar Thursday to help journalists effectively use Facebook to reach new audiences, enhance their storytelling and engage online readers.

The event, offered via Poynter’s NewsU, begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Nov. 12.

Ellyn Angelotti, interactivity editor of Poynter Online and adjunct faculty at Poynter, will demonstrate how news organizations are using Facebook. Participants will explore best practices and techniques for building an online presence.

The one-hour Webinar costs $24.95. For more information and to register, go to www.newsu.org/FacebookWebinar09.

Staffing and budget cuts may force the closure of Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, which is housed in Founder’s Library at Howard University.

“The loss of 60 percent of its resources and the abolishment of some critical positions due to the Voluntary Separation Incentive Retirement Program (VSIRP) resulted in many problems,” interim director Thomas C. Battle told the daily student newspaper, the Hilltop.

It is one of the world’s largest repositories of documents and other information about individuals, institutions and issues important to people of African descent throughout the world including the papers of medical pioneer Dr. Charles Drew, Congressional Black Caucus  records and copies of Afro-American  newspapers, one of the nation’s largest black newspapers.

Its collections include more than 175,000 bound volumes; thousands of journals, periodicals, and newspapers; and 100,000 prints, photographs, maps, and other graphic items.

“This should be a greater outcry. This is the premier place to research black history and culture,” Battle told the Hilltop.

I wasn’t born yet when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, but I do remember where I was when the Challenger space shuttle exploded or when planes slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001 or when then-Sen. Barack Obama was officially elected the 44th president of the United States of America.

On Election Night ‘08, I was working as an online producer at a Nashville television station. A few weeks earlier, Obama and McCain appeared in Music City for one of a handful of presidential debates held around the country. As an online producer, I was charged with writing stories, taking and editing pictures and video and posting all of them before, during and after four nightly newscasts. On Election Night, everything moved more quickly and thankfully I worked alongside dear friend and skilled colleague Angela Gardenhire.

As the election returns came in – Ohio, the Carolinas, the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) then the polls across the Midwest and finally the West Coast, people started calling the newsroom. Angela and I hurriedly monitored blog posts and filed updates along with our usual tasks. But, at one point, after ABC anchor Charlie Gibson called the election for Obama, I stopped. I excused myself and went into a conference room and cried. When I returned to my desk among the people who called me was my mother. Initially I didn’t recognize her voice, but the caller ID confirmed the source. She was crying, saying she wished my grandfather was alive to witness this feat. She also said she wasn’t sure months ago if she’d ever see this day, but she was glad for it. I added that I was very proud of fellow Americans who stepped away from fear to elect the nation’s first black president.

Last night, HBO aired a documentary produced by actor Edward Norton  that provided behind-the-scenes access to the Obama campaign. I enjoyed reliving Election Night as well as learning about how the campaign affected staff and volunteers.

On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Dr. Regina Benjamin as the nation’s newest top doctor.

In July, President Barack Obama announced her as his Surgeon General nominee because “health care reform is about every family’s health and the health of our economy.  And if there’s anyone who understands the urgency of meeting this challenge in a personal and powerful way, it’s the woman who will become our nation’s next Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin. I look forward working with her in the months and years ahead.”

She founded Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Ala.  Last year, she was named a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation  fellow and received a $500,000 fellowship grant to support her efforts to provide medical care to underserved communities. She has served as associate dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama’s College of Medicine and as president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.

“Regina Benjamin has been a key member of our board leadership at Morehouse School of Medicine, and we are proud, though not surprised, to see her named Surgeon General,” Morehouse School of Medicine President Dr. John E. Maupin Jr., said in a statement. “Her work on our board has demonstrated a real commitment to improving the health of our communities and reducing healthcare disparities, and I have no doubt her public service as Surgeon General will be a benefit to all Americans.”

“Dr. Benjamin has been a leader in healthcare at the local, state and national levels, bringing with her an expertise and perspective based on her own rural medical practice in Bayou LaBatre, Alabama,” said Dr. Jorge Alsip, president of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. 

“Dr. Benjamin’s diverse clinical and healthcare policy experience will prove to be valuable assets as she helps Americans understand issues vital to their health,” Alsip said in a statement, “We’re convinced she will be a strong and effective advocate for preventive medicine and other public health initiatives and will make a significant impact as Surgeon General.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions said Thursday that the”American people will undoubtedly benefit from her knowledge and unwavering dedication to improving the public’s health and wellness.”

“I applaud President Obama for his nomination of Dr. Benjamin, and I greatly appreciate the work of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Leader, for making this vote possible tonight. This is indeed a proud day for the people of Alabama,” said Sessions of Alabama.”

The Senate unanimously approved Benjamin’s nomination.