Alycia Lane
Encyclopedia
Alycia Lane is an American
television
journalist
. She serves as weekday morning anchor
at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles
. Until January 2008, she was co-anchor of the weekday evening newscasts
on KYW-TV
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. Lane's contract with KYW-TV was terminated following controversies regarding her off-screen private life.
, is of Puerto Rican descent on her mother's side and Welsh
descent on her father's. She has a master's degree
in Broadcast Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism
at Northwestern University
, and an undergraduate degree
from the State University of New York at Albany, where she graduated with honors. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
and speaks fluent Spanish
. Alycia Lane has been married twice.
began while completing her Master's at Northwestern, serving as a Washington, D.C.
-based reporter for KSNT
in Topeka, Kansas
. After completing her studies, she returned to her native New York and joined Cablevision-owned News 12 the Bronx
, where she served as an anchor and reporter. Among the stories she covered there was the 1999 shooting of African immigrant Amadou Diallo
, who was shot to death by four New York City
police officers.
In 2000, Lane moved to Miami, after being hired as a reporter for Fox
affiliate WSVN
. She joined a rival station, NBC
-owned WTVJ
a year later, and spent two years there before moving to Philadelphia and CBS
-owned KYW-TV in September 2003. KYW-TV paired her with Larry Mendte
on their 11 o'clock newscast, and by early 2004 had experienced "an amazing 61%" rise in the show's ratings
. In 2005, she was awarded a local Emmy Award
for her "Holiday Traditions" special
.
Lane moved to Los Angeles
in July 2009 and was hired by NBC affiliate KNBC on August 18. She debuted on the air August 29 in the weekend evening anchor chair, replacing Kim Baldonado, who was promoted to KNBC's weekday 11 a.m. newscast and the investigative report show News Extra. In February 2010, Lane became co-anchor of Today in LA on KNBC.
's Rich Eisen, via an account that he shared with his wife, Suzy Shuster
. Shuster's email response became public. Lane insisted that the pictures were harmless and that she and Eisen have been "purely platonic
" friends "for almost 10 years", and that they "regularly exchange e-mail and photos".In June 2010, CBS released emails between Lane and Eisen that suggested something more than a friendly relationship. The emails were released as part of a pre-trial motion in Lane's wrongful termination suit against CBS.
ed in the early morning hours of December 16, 2007 in New York City, accused of physically and verbally assault
ing a female police officer, as well as making homophobic comments, calling the officer a "fucking dyke". Lane was charged with one felony
count of assault on a police officer. The criminal case was effectively closed on February 25, 2008, when a New York judge
dropped the felony assault charges against her and reduced Lane's charges to misdemeanor
s. The case was then adjourned, with an additional provision that the charges against Lane would be dropped on the condition that she is not arrested, at any time, over the next six months. A New York City Police Association expressed "outrage" over the reduction and dismissal of charges against Lane.
. In a statement
, the station explained that the decision to terminate
Lane, stating:
Lane's legal counsel, Paul Rosen, subsequently released a statement which challenged the station's reasoning:
On January 30, 2008, Lane's lawyers filed a writ of summons
on her behalf, a preemptive move towards a lawsuit
against KYW-TV in connection with her dismissal. On February 19, 2008, lawyers for CBS, KYW-TV's parent company, sought to move Lane's state court writ to the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia
, though a provision in Lane's contract which stated that employment disputes were to be handled in New York, where the network is headquartered.
On June 19, 2008, Lane filed suit against KYW-TV and station manager Michael Colleran alleging
that she was exploited
and defamed. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages
. A spokeswoman for KYW-TV had no comment
on the pending litigation.
. Larry Mendte
is allegedly responsible for feeding her private information to gossip columnists over the years including Dan Gross
of the Philadelphia Daily News
and violating attorney/client privilege in doing so during her New York legal problems and pending lawsuit against KYW. Mendte was dismissed by the station on June 23, 2008. On July 21, 2008, Mendte was charged with one felony count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization
. In August 2008 Mendte pleaded guilty and in November 2008 he was sentenced to three years probation, six months home confinement, 250 hours community service, computer monitoring, psychiatric evaluation, a $5,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. She serves as weekday morning anchor
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Until January 2008, she was co-anchor of the weekday evening newscasts
News broadcasting
News broadcasting is the broadcasting of various news events and other information via television, radio or internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by a broadcast network...
on KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Lane's contract with KYW-TV was terminated following controversies regarding her off-screen private life.
Background
Lane, a native of Lake Grove, New YorkLake Grove, New York
Lake Grove is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 10,250 at the 2000 census.The Village of Lake Grove is located in the Town of Brookhaven....
, is of Puerto Rican descent on her mother's side and Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
descent on her father's. She has a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Broadcast Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism
Medill School of Journalism
The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University which offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It has consistently been one of the top-ranked schools in Journalism in the United States...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and an undergraduate degree
Undergraduate degree
An undergraduate degree is a colloquial term for an academic degree taken by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. It is usually offered at an institution of higher education, such as a university...
from the State University of New York at Albany, where she graduated with honors. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the advancement of Hispanic journalists in the United States and Puerto Rico...
and speaks fluent Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Alycia Lane has been married twice.
Career
Lane's television careerCareer
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
began while completing her Master's at Northwestern, serving as a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based reporter for KSNT
KSNT
KSNT is the NBC-affiliated television station for Topeka, Kansas. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter at its studios on Northwest 27th Street near the Kiro section of Topeka...
in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
. After completing her studies, she returned to her native New York and joined Cablevision-owned News 12 the Bronx
News 12 Networks
News 12 Networks comprises seven regional cable news television channels in the New York metropolitan area. The channels offer local news 24-hours a day and reach approximately 3.8 million television households in the tri-state area...
, where she served as an anchor and reporter. Among the stories she covered there was the 1999 shooting of African immigrant Amadou Diallo
Amadou Diallo
Amadou Diallo was a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant in New York City who was shot and killed on February 4, 1999 by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed officers: Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss. The four officers fired a total of 41 shots...
, who was shot to death by four New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
police officers.
In 2000, Lane moved to Miami, after being hired as a reporter for Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate WSVN
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...
. She joined a rival station, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-owned WTVJ
WTVJ
WTVJ, virtual channel 6 , is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC television network, located in Broward County. WTVJ shares its TV studio and office facility with co-owned Telemundo station WSCV in Miramar, Florida, and its transmitter is located near Sun Life Stadium in north...
a year later, and spent two years there before moving to Philadelphia and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-owned KYW-TV in September 2003. KYW-TV paired her with Larry Mendte
Larry Mendte
Larry Mendte is an American commentator and American news anchor working at WPIX in New York City. Mendte was the first male host of the American syndicated television show Access Hollywood. His nightly commentaries are aired on TV stations across the country...
on their 11 o'clock newscast, and by early 2004 had experienced "an amazing 61%" rise in the show's ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. In 2005, she was awarded a local Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for her "Holiday Traditions" special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
.
Lane moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in July 2009 and was hired by NBC affiliate KNBC on August 18. She debuted on the air August 29 in the weekend evening anchor chair, replacing Kim Baldonado, who was promoted to KNBC's weekday 11 a.m. newscast and the investigative report show News Extra. In February 2010, Lane became co-anchor of Today in LA on KNBC.
Bikini pictures
In May 2007, Lane became the center of a national media story when reports surfaced that she emailed pictures of herself and friends, in bikinis, to the NFL NetworkNFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
's Rich Eisen, via an account that he shared with his wife, Suzy Shuster
Suzy Shuster
Suzy Shuster is an American broadcaster. She got her start in sports broadcasting as an intern at the 1994 Final Four, broadcast on CBS. She was educated at Columbia University and graduated with a degree in History and Art History in 1994...
. Shuster's email response became public. Lane insisted that the pictures were harmless and that she and Eisen have been "purely platonic
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
" friends "for almost 10 years", and that they "regularly exchange e-mail and photos".In June 2010, CBS released emails between Lane and Eisen that suggested something more than a friendly relationship. The emails were released as part of a pre-trial motion in Lane's wrongful termination suit against CBS.
Assault charges
Lane was arrestArrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed in the early morning hours of December 16, 2007 in New York City, accused of physically and verbally assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
ing a female police officer, as well as making homophobic comments, calling the officer a "fucking dyke". Lane was charged with one felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
count of assault on a police officer. The criminal case was effectively closed on February 25, 2008, when a New York judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
dropped the felony assault charges against her and reduced Lane's charges to misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
s. The case was then adjourned, with an additional provision that the charges against Lane would be dropped on the condition that she is not arrested, at any time, over the next six months. A New York City Police Association expressed "outrage" over the reduction and dismissal of charges against Lane.
Dismissal from KYW-TV
On January 7, 2008, KYW-TV announced that Lane had been released from her contractEmployment contract
A contract of employment is a category of contract used in labour law to attribute right and responsibilities between parties to a bargain.On the one end stands an "employee" who is "employed" by an "employer". It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century...
. In a statement
News release
A press release, news release, media release, press statement or video release is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something ostensibly newsworthy...
, the station explained that the decision to terminate
Firing
Dismissal is the termination of employment by an employer against the will of the employee. Though such a decision can be made by an employer for a variety of reasons, ranging from an economic downturn to performance-related problems on the part of the employee, being fired has a strong stigma in...
Lane, stating:
After assessing the overall impact of a series of incidents resulting from judgments she has made...we have concluded that it would be impossible for Alycia to continue to report the news as she, herself, has become the focus of so many news stories.
Lane's legal counsel, Paul Rosen, subsequently released a statement which challenged the station's reasoning:
The termination comes at a time when there has been absolutely no determination that Alycia is guiltyPresumption of innocenceThe presumption of innocence, sometimes referred to by the Latin expression Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat, is the principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Application of this principle is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial, recognised in many...
of any wrongful conduct, and after KYW-TV has aired her categorical denial of the alleged charge that is pending against her. The termination is unfair because Alycia has never had an opportunity to defend against this charge, and tell her side of the story publicly, before KYW-TV has taken this unusual and unwarranted step to terminate her employment.
On January 30, 2008, Lane's lawyers filed a writ of summons
Summons
Legally, a summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes.-Judicial summons:...
on her behalf, a preemptive move towards a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against KYW-TV in connection with her dismissal. On February 19, 2008, lawyers for CBS, KYW-TV's parent company, sought to move Lane's state court writ to the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
, though a provision in Lane's contract which stated that employment disputes were to be handled in New York, where the network is headquartered.
On June 19, 2008, Lane filed suit against KYW-TV and station manager Michael Colleran alleging
Allegation
An allegation is a claim of a fact by a party in a pleading, which the party claims to be able to prove. Allegations remain assertions without proof, until they can be proved....
that she was exploited
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
and defamed. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
. A spokeswoman for KYW-TV had no comment
No comment
No comment is a phrase used as a response to journalistic inquiries which the respondent does not wish to answer. Public figures may decline to comment on issues they are questioned or have nothing to say about the issue at the time...
on the pending litigation.
E-mail incident
On May 31, 2008, it was reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer Alycia Lane's co-anchor was under investigation by the FBI for allegedly reading Lane's private e-mail, which is a federal offenseFederal crime
In the United States, a federal crime or federal offense is a crime that is made illegal by U.S. federal legislation. In the United States, criminal law and prosecution happen at both the federal and the state levels; thus a “federal crime” is one that is prosecuted under federal criminal law, and...
. Larry Mendte
Larry Mendte
Larry Mendte is an American commentator and American news anchor working at WPIX in New York City. Mendte was the first male host of the American syndicated television show Access Hollywood. His nightly commentaries are aired on TV stations across the country...
is allegedly responsible for feeding her private information to gossip columnists over the years including Dan Gross
Dan Gross
Dan Gross is an American journalist who writes a gossip column for the Philadelphia Daily News. His work has previously appeared in magazines such as Rolling Stone and Anthem and he published two fanzines, Scenester! and Deal With It, in the 1990s. Gross is a graduate of Lower Merion High School...
of the Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
and violating attorney/client privilege in doing so during her New York legal problems and pending lawsuit against KYW. Mendte was dismissed by the station on June 23, 2008. On July 21, 2008, Mendte was charged with one felony count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1986, intended to reduce cracking of computer systems and to address federal computer-related offenses...
. In August 2008 Mendte pleaded guilty and in November 2008 he was sentenced to three years probation, six months home confinement, 250 hours community service, computer monitoring, psychiatric evaluation, a $5,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.