NEW YORK — The mainstream media's near-silence about a tabloid report that former presidential candidate John Edwards had an extramarital affair with a campaign worker ended abruptly Friday when he admitted the relationship to ABC News.
The cable news networks pounced on the story, broken by the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer last year but largely unaddressed by major news organizations until Edwards' admission.
Fox News, CNN and MSNBC all had extensive coverage of the scandal throughout the afternoon, and the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Washington Post quickly posted stories on their websites.
Several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, had been pursuing the story prior to Friday. But the burst of attention after he confirmed a romantic relationship with Rielle Hunter, who produced video documentaries for his campaign website, was in marked contrast to the way those news organizations had tiptoed around the original reports.
The Enquirer first published a story in October about a relationship between Edwards and a campaign worker, quoting unnamed sources. Edwards called it "completely untrue" and "ridiculous."
The tabloid pressed on, reporting that Edwards had fathered a child by Hunter. Two weeks ago, it published a detailed story about a visit Edwards paid to Hunter at the Beverly Hilton, where he was confronted by Enquirer reporters.
The Enquirer's stories caused waves in the blogosphere but got little bounce from major print publications or television networks.
Edwards ultimately admitted the affair Friday in an interview on "Nightline" with Bob Woodruff, who covered his 2004 presidential bid.
The former North Carolina senator maintained that he was not the father of Hunter's daughter.
David Perel, editor of the Enquirer, said he felt vindicated. "It's good to see public acknowledgment that our story was accurate all along," he said.
But the news triggered anger and disappointment on Internet message boards, along with condemnation of the news media.
"Probably the biggest question about this whole mess is why the mainstream media protected Edwards by ignoring the story for the past 8 months," read one typical comment on ABC News' website.
Several news executives said their organizations had been pursuing the story but had not confirmed it.
Sam Feist, CNN's political director, said its reporters had been trying to nail down the allegations since last fall.
