“I'm from the, uh, Times”

Partiers pretend to be NYC reporters to crash VIP events

NYC's most tight-roped events are crawling with partiers faking their way in as reporters, according to an AMNewYork exposé.

Public-relations maven Claudia Stepke told the daily that "about 24 fake journalists tried to get into a recent gala to raise money for poor children." (You know things are getting out of hand when someone who does PR in Manhattan for a living starts siding with integrity.) The article goes on to name one faker who reportedly went as far as making up business cards, inventing an imaginary assistant and barraging PR firms with impatient phone calls… all posing as a reporter for (you guessed it) AmNewYork.

The screed also suggests that the run on free food, booze and excellent gift bags may have something to do with the current economy and -- in our favorite twist -- low self-worth. (Yeah, they called in a psych expert to comment. That's what real reporters do, I'm told.) Hey, at a time when real journalists aren't exactly squeaky-clean (again), who can blame a broke good-time-seeker for trying? [via AMNewYork]

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