The news that fits its times

Was this newsworthy simply because Villaraigosa was cheating on his wife and the public loves salacious details? Was it that his paramour was a journalist who sometimes covered him? Was it newsworthy at all? Some people thought the mayor's personal life had been invaded by nosy news media; others thought he got off easy.

So where does that leave us with Sanford? His story unfolded in a way that made it impossible not to report: He disappeared and couldn't be located for several days. It was propelled onto the front pages by several delicious facts: Sanford, as a House member, had voted for the Clinton impeachment; he is a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative who visited his girlfriend in Argentina at least once on taxpayer dollars; and he was a potential 2012 presidential contender. What's more, his revelation of infidelity came just days after that of Nevada Sen. John Ensign, which meant it fell into a category journalists particularly love -- the trend story.

One thing that seems clear is that the more such stories are reported, the less shocking they'll be. Gary Hart felt he had to drop out of the 1988 presidential race after his dalliance with Donna Rice became public, but four years later, Clinton survived the primaries despite the revelation of his relationship with Gennifer Flowers. Villaraigosa just won a second term. So did San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, despite the revelation of his affair.

The media, in the end, will report what the community wants to know -- or what it thinks the community wants to know. If people stop caring about such news, newspapers, television and even bloggers will grow increasingly blase as well. That's the way it's always worked.