Alycia Lane

Last updated
Alycia Lane
BornMay 10, 1972 (1972-05-10) (age 52)
Alma mater University at Albany, SUNY (BA)
Medill School of Journalism (MA)
OccupationTelevision journalist
TitleNewscaster
Spouses
  • Dino Calandriello
    (m. 2000;div. 2004)
  • Jay Adkins
    (m. 2005;div. 2007)
Children1

Alycia Lane (born May 10, 1972) is an American television journalist. Until October 2013, she served as weekday morning anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. From September 2003 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 shortly after being arrested for allegedly striking a New York police officer and calling her a homophobic slur.

Contents

Background

Lane, a native of Lake Grove, New York, 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. [1] Lane has been married twice and gave birth to a daughter in June 2014. [2]

Career

Lane's television career began while completing her master's degree at Northwestern University, serving as a Washington, D.C.-based reporter for KSNT in Topeka, Kansas. [1] 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. [1] 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. [1] KYW-TV paired her with Larry Mendte on their 11:00 p.m. edition of CBS 3 Eyewitness News. Mendte had been wooed away from rival WCAU-TV where he led the station to #1 in the ratings in some newscast slots for the first time in 30 years. By early 2004 KYW-TV had experienced "an amazing 61%" rise in the show's ratings. [3] In 2005, she was awarded a local Emmy Award for co-hosting the annual "Holiday Traditions" special. [1] [4]

After her stint at KYW-TV, Lane moved to Los Angeles in July 2009 and was hired by NBC-owned KNBC on August 18. She debuted on the air on August 29 as anchor of the weekend editions of the Channel 4 News where she replaced Kim Baldonado. [5] In February 2010, Lane became co-anchor of Today in L.A. on KNBC. In 2011, Lane received a National Edward R. Murrow Award for Writing on a special story about a mysterious disorder called 'Angelman Syndrome'. In addition, she has won multiple Emmy Awards at KNBC, along with two Golden Mic Awards.

In October 2013, KNBC announced that Lane was no longer employed by the station. [6]

Scandals

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 Network's Rich Eisen, via an account that he shared with his wife, Suzy Shuster. Shuster's email response became public. [7] Lane insisted that the pictures were harmless [8] and that she and Eisen have been "purely platonic" friends "for almost 10 years", and that they "regularly exchange e-mail and photos". [9] 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. [10]

Assault charges

Lane was arrested in the early morning hours of December 16, 2007, in New York City, accused of physically and verbally assaulting a female police officer, as well as making homophobic comments, calling the officer a "fucking dyke". [11] Lane was charged with one felony count of assault on a police officer. [12] [13] [14] 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 misdemeanors. 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. [15] A New York City Police Association expressed "outrage" over the reduction and dismissal of charges against Lane. [16]

Dismissal from KYW-TV

On January 7, 2008, while suspended from KYW-TV for the assault on a New York police officer, the station announced that Lane had been released from her contract. In a statement, the station explained the decision to terminate 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. [17]

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 guilty 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. [18]

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. [19] [20] 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 stated that employment disputes were to be handled in New York, where the network is headquartered. [21]

On June 19, 2008, Lane filed suit against KYW-TV and station manager Michael Colleran alleging that she was exploited and defamed. On December 12, 2013, Lane's lawsuit against CBS was dismissed after a hearing determined that Lane purposely destroyed evidence in the case. Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Alan Tereshko ruled that it would be impossible for CBS to defend itself without Lane's laptop. In March, Tereshko also dismissed Lane's lawsuit against Mendte for the same reason. [22]

E-mail incident

On May 31, 2008, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Larry Mendte, Alycia Lane's former co-anchor, was under investigation by the FBI for allegedly reading Lane's private e-mail, and for feeding her private information to gossip columnists over the years including Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News. [23] 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 and six months' home confinement. [24] Alycia Lane sued Larry Mendte, CBS, and the former general manager of KYW-TV over the incident. In December 2012 the suit against CBS was thrown out after the judge found that Alycia Lane had destroyed evidence. The suit against Mendte was settled in 2016. [25]

Preceded by CBS 3 6pm & 11pm Eyewitness news anchor
2003 2007 (with Larry Mendte)
Succeeded by
Larry Mendte & Susan Barnett

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Savitch</span> American television news reporter (1947–1983)

Jessica Beth Savitch was an American television journalist who was the weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News and daily newsreader for NBC News during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Savitch was one of the first women to anchor an evening network newscast alone, following in the footsteps of Marlene Sanders of ABC News and Catherine Mackin of NBC News. She also hosted PBS's public affairs program Frontline from its January 1983 debut until her death the following October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Snyder</span> American television and radio personality (1936–2007)

Thomas James Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows Tomorrow, on NBC in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on CBS in the 1990s. Snyder was also the pioneer anchor of the prime time NBC News Update, in the 1970s and early 1980s, which was a one-minute capsule of news updates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KYW (AM)</span> All-news radio station in Philadelphia

KYW is a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest continuously operating radio stations in the United States, originating in Chicago before moving to Philadelphia in 1934. KYW's unusual history includes its call sign of only three letters, beginning with a K, rare for a station in the Eastern United States. It broadcasts an all-news radio format and is branded as "KYW Newsradio". KYW serves as the flagship station of Audacy, Inc. KYW's studios are co-located within Audacy's corporate headquarters in Center City Philadelphia and its transmitter and two-tower directional antenna array are located in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.

KYW-TV, branded CBS Philadelphia, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WPSG. The two stations share studios on Hamilton Street north of Center City, Philadelphia; KYW-TV's transmitter is located in the city's Roxborough section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCAU</span> NBC TV station in Philadelphia

WCAU is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo outlet WWSI ; it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia.

<i>Eyewitness News</i> American television newscast format

Eyewitness News is a style of television presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action videos, instead of the older ,"man-on-camera" style of newscast.

Lawrence David Mendte is an American news anchor, commentator and radio talk show host. He is currently the news director and anchor at WOR radio in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKVP</span> K-LOVE radio station in Camden, New Jersey

WKVP is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Camden, New Jersey, serving the Philadelphia media market. The station is owned and operated by Educational Media Foundation and is an affiliate of K-Love, EMF's Christian adult contemporary music network. Its broadcast tower is located on Mount Ephraim Avenue in Camden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Brewer</span> American news reporter

Nicole Brewer is an American news reporter. She is a former Miss Pennsylvania from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ulysses Samuel "Ukee" Washington III is an American news co-anchor for the weekday evening newscast on KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He currently anchors CBS News Philadelphia on CBS 3 at 5pm alongside Natasha Brown and solo anchors 6 & 11pm on KYW and 8pm on sister station WPSG-TV.

Pat Ciarrocchi is a retired American broadcast journalist who co-anchored the weekday noon newscast of CBS3 Eyewitness News on KYW-TV in Philadelphia alongside Ukee Washington. A Padua Academy and Rosemont College alumna, she joined the station in 1982 after leaving WHAG in Hagerstown, Maryland, working alongside Bob Borngesser and Glen Presgraves. Previously she had served as anchor of the weekday morning and noon news for almost two decades. While at KYW-TV, she served as co-anchor of Evening Magazine for two years until it was canceled. In 2001, she moved on from the morning news and was promoted to 5 pm co-anchor until it was canceled in favor of Dr. Phil in 2003, as part of the station's "Make the Switch" promotion. Ciarrocchi was the city's longest-tenured female anchor.

Susan Barnett is an American television news anchor. She spent five years at KYW-TV as co-anchor of the 5, 6, and 11 P.M. newscasts and is a former beauty queen from Levittown, Pennsylvania who competed at Miss Teen USA 1990 and Miss USA 1996.

Valerie Levesque is an American former TV news reporter for KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In September 2001, she reported from Somerset County, Pennsylvania for WHP-TV on the hijacking and crash of United Airlines Flight 93.

Kathleen "Kathy" Orr is a meteorologist, for the Fox 29 Weather Authority team on WTXF in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Calvin Hughes is a news anchor on WPLG Local 10, in Miami, Florida, United States.

Tammie Souza is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist, She worked as the chief meteorologist at NBC O&O station WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 2017 until December 2019. and is currently the weekend morning meteorologist at CBS O&O station KYW.

Natasha Brown is an anchor and reporter at KYW-TV in Philadelphia. She reports for the station's CBS News Philadelphia on weeknights and is the current co-anchor of CBS News Philadelphia @ 4pm weekdays alongside anchor Siafa Lewis, who joined her in November 2021 after departing Chicago station WMAQ-TV, & 5 p.m. with Ukee Washington. She joined the station in December 2002 as morning anchor and reporter. She is also host of Speak Up, a public affairs program on WPSG. She graduated from James Madison University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. Prior to joining KYW, she worked as a reporter at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She previously worked as weekend anchor and reporter at WWBT in Richmond, Virginia. Brown began her career as a reporter at WPDE-TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Beverly Williams is a former news anchor from Philadelphia.

Dawn Stensland Mendte is an American television talk show host and news anchor working at WJLP-TV in Freehold, New Jersey, and on WPHT 1210 AM in Philadelphia. She is also a past anchor of CBS Saturday Morning. Stensland-Mendte has anchored the news at TV stations across the country including WBBM-TV in Chicago, KYW-TV and WTXF-TV in Philadelphia and WKYC-TV in Cleveland. She is married to Larry Mendte, a radio talk show host, TV news commentator and news anchor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Philadelphia</span> 2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd

The George Floyd protests and riots in Philadelphia were a series of protests and riots occurring in the City of Philadelphia. Unrest in the city began as a response to the murder of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Numerous protests, rallies and marches took place in Philadelphia in solidarity with protestors in Minneapolis and across the United States. These demonstrations call for justice for Floyd and protest police brutality. After several days of protests and riots, Philadelphia leadership joined other major cities, including Chicago in instituting a curfew, beginning Saturday, May 30, at 8 p.m. The protests concluded on June 23, 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alycia Lane Biography". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  2. Mathis, Joel (23 June 2014). "Alycia Lane Is a Mommy Now". Philly Mag. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. Steve McClellan (2004-05-04). "CBS Stations Soar in Sweeps: New talent, vision transform losers into winners". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  4. "2005 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award Winners". NatasMid-Atlantic.org. Archived from the original on 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  5. Greg Braxton (2009-08-19). "Alycia Lane to join KNBC-TV". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  6. Victor Fiorillo (2013-10-16). "Alycia Lane fired by KNBC". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
  7. Staff Report. "Report: Wife not amused by Alycia Lane's email come-on". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
  8. Michael Klein. "Alycia Lane defends "saucy" e-mails". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
  9. TMZ Staff (2 May 2007). "Bikini-Clad News Babe: Sexy Pix "Purely Platonic"". TMZ.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
  10. G. W. Miller 3rd In Philadelphia and Corky Siemaszko (2010-06-04). "Flirty e-mails released between naughty newscaster Alycia Lane and married NFL Network sportscaster". nydailynews.com. New York. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. Criminal Court of the City of New York (2007-12-17). "NYC Police Complaint" (PDF). philly.com. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  12. Dan Gross (2007-12-16). "Alycia Lane Arrested in New York for allegedly assaulting an NYPD officer". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  13. Dan Gross (2007-12-16). "Ugly new details on Alycia's arrest". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  14. "Anchorwoman Arrested". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2007-12-17. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  15. Samuel Maull (2008-02-25). "Ex-Philly News Anchor's Charges Reduced" . Retrieved 2008-02-21.[ dead link ]
  16. Andy Towle (2008-04-19). "Gay Officers Group Outraged at News Anchor's Charge Downgrade". Archived from the original on 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  17. CBS 3 announses Alycia Lane termination on YouTube
  18. Paul Rosen (2008-01-08). "Spector Gadon & Rosen P.C. press release". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  19. Lane v. CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
  20. Michael Klein (2008-01-30). "Alycia's lawyer: We want facts". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  21. Dan Gross (2008-02-20). "CBS makes federal case of Alycia". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  22. Jennifer Looney (2013-07-07). "Alycia Lane Lawsuit Thrown Out Because She Lied". Ground Report. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
  23. "PhillyBurbs.com: Philadelphia gossip columnist dropped from lawsuit". phillyburbs.com. Retrieved January 17, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  24. "Larry Mendte Sentenced To 3 Years Probation - cbs3.com". cbs3.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  25. "Alycia Lane, CBS3 finally settle lawsuit over email snooping". 21 October 2016.