KNBC defends Alycia Lane

After yesterday's initial wave of clucking over Channel 4 hiring Alycia Lane as weekend anchor, KNBC came back with a statement saying "We're aware of her background and have looked into the claims against her, and we are very comfortable with our decision to have her join the station." She was, after all, the main weeknight anchor on the CBS station in Philadelphia for five years. Greg Braxton in the L.A. Times:

One KNBC insider said the station had been approached about six months ago by Lane's representatives, who said Lane wanted to move to the West Coast to be with her boyfriend. The source, who asked not to be identified because no public comments had been authorized, said that station executives expected a "flurry" of scrutiny with the announcement but felt that the controversy would eventually die down and that Lane's strengths as a journalist would win over audiences and critics.

In a separate statement, Lane, 37, said Tuesday, "I am thrilled to once again be a part of the NBC family. Having enjoyed working with NBC in Miami, I'm excited to be back doing what I love, moving forward, and using my experiences to make me a better journalist. I'm grateful to NBC for the opportunity to contribute to an already stellar TV news team."

Lane's bio includes controversies over bikini photos, calling a NYPD cop a dyke, allegedly assaulting the cop, a messy involvement with her co-anchor and suing the co-anchor and the station that fired her.

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