'I Don't Give A Fuck Who You Are, I'm A Fucking TV Reporter.'

Those were the words of Philadelphia anchorwoman Alycia Lane, said to an undercover New York cop just before the Emmy award-winning CBS3 anchor reportedly punched her in the face.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer after the Daily News broke the story:

CBS3 anchor Alycia Lane was arrested early yesterday after allegedly punching a
plainclothes female New York City police officer in the face around 2 a.m. in
Manhattan.

Lane, 35, was charged with assault. New York Police Sgt. Carlos
Nieves said Lane's attack left the officer bloody and lacerated.

Smith said that Lane was "accosted" by "several" plainclothes police officers as she was photographing an "altercation" between an individual in her party and the plainclothes officers at the corner of West 17th Street and Ninth Avenue.

But an amusing video on Comcast.net (via CelebTV.com) really brought home the point of this tale:

"Rule number one: as an on-air personality, you can never make yourself the story."

Oh, and one more thing: Don't punch people on the street, either.

Media reports seem to play up the lack of celebrities in Philadelphia as the reason this story got so much air, but I'm thinking it was because of an incredible lack of judgment -- not just with the punch, of course, but for daring to justify an action unrelated to the job by stating (triumphantly, at that) that "I'm a reporter."

The whole thing just makes me cringe. Oh, and in case you were wondering -- yes, she was dropped off the air. It remains to be seen where she'll end up next.