Amid all of the mainstream media coverage of Arnold Schwarzenegger, one question has repeatedly popped up: How did the Hollywood superstar and California governor manage to keep an illicit affair (and child from that affair) secret from his journalist wife and the news and entertainment media?
The media outlet that has broken most of the stories that have involved high profile philandering is none other than the mother of all tabloids, The National Enquirer. The scandals of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, and golf legend Tiger Woods were first reported on in detail by The National Enquirer.
In fact, it was back in 2001 that the publication featured a series of pieces that dealt with an alleged extramarital affair by Arnold and the accompanying prediction that his marriage to Maria Shriver would end.
However, the tabloid's Governator coverage inexplicably seemed to slowly fade away. This may have had something to do with a business transaction that involved The National Enquirer's parent company, American Media, Inc.
In 2003, around the time Arnold was considering his first California gubernatorial run, American Media, Inc. acquired the muscle-building magazine enterprise, Weider Publications. Arnold was a key player in the transaction, and he eventually became the executive editor of "Muscle & Fitness" and "Flex," two of the most prominent magazines that American Media, Inc. gained control over when it purchased Weider Publications.
Mark Ebner, who in 2006 worked for American Media, Inc. as a reporter, and who, incidentally, is co-author along with Andrew Breitbart of the book, "Hollywood Interrupted," said, according to The Huffington Post, that there was a newsroom policy that stipulated, "You don't touch Schwarzenegger."
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court. Hirsen is the co-founder and chief legal counsel for InternationalEsq.com. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood: www.youtube.com/user/NMHollywood
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