( CNN ) -- Rumors about John Edwards ' love affair had been circulating for months , but it was n't until the former Democratic presidential candidate admitted to the affair that national news organizations jumped on the story . John Edwards admitted Friday that he had an affair with Rielle Hunter in 2006 . After the National Enquirer reported catching Edwards making a late-night visit to see his ex-mistress last month , the blogosphere exploded , asking why the mainstream media was not reporting the story . Was it because of a condescending attitude toward a tabloid 's reporting ? Bias toward a Democratic candidate ? Or sympathy toward Elizabeth Edwards , who is battling an incurable form of cancer ? David Carr , a columnist for The New York Times , said many news organizations `` tend to pick up stories from the National Enquirer with tongs . '' `` They have been very right about some things ... but there 's been some misses too , so it 's a little scary to follow on those stories , '' he said Sunday on CNN 's Reliable Sources . `` It 's also a little scary for big outfits to step up on a story like this . Sex may sell , but it can really hurt your relationship with readers , '' he added . Enquirer editor David Perel said his organization feels a `` big sense of vindication '' now that Edwards has admitted to the affair . In an interview Friday with ABC , Edwards confessed to having an affair with Rielle Hunter , but he denied the Enquirer 's claim that he fathered her child . He also said he told his family about the `` liaison '' in 2006 . Watch more on Rielle Hunter » . The former vice presidential candidate was first confronted about the allegations after the Enquirer reported the affair in October . `` The story is false , it 's completely untrue , it 's ridiculous , '' he said . Edwards on Friday said he used the fact that the Enquirer story `` contained many falsities '' to deny it . `` But being 99 percent honest is no longer enough , '' he said in a statement . Asked by CNN 's Howard Kurtz if sympathy for Elizabeth Edwards played any part in an apparent reluctance to report the story , ABC correspondent Kate Snow said no . `` We at ABC were working on this story , and if we had had any proof and any verifiable facts , we certainly would have gone with the story , '' she said . `` It was just a matter of , we 're not going to put something on the air until we know that it 's true . '' On this particular story , most major news networks took the stance that the rumors of an affair were not newsworthy . iReport.com : Your thoughts on the Edwards scandal . Brian Ross , ABC 's chief investigative correspondent , said his investigative team was pushing hard following the money trail , looking at such things as who paid for Hunter 's fancy California home and the use of campaign funds . He said that even without Edwards ' admission , ABC probably would have been able to run a story about the issue this week . Watch what 's next for Edwards » . `` We were able to prove , I think with satisfaction to our bosses , that there was money being paid to Rielle Hunter , '' Ross said . `` This began to be , for us , an aspect of something we could report -- some hard facts . '' Edwards has denied giving any money to Hunter . Fred Baron , the finance chairman for the Edwards presidential campaign , said he paid to help Hunter move out of the former North Carolina senator 's home state and did not tell Edwards about the assistance . As Ross worked on the money angle , his colleague Bob Woodruff landed an interview with Edwards . With Edwards ' on-camera admission , the story changed from a rumored affair to a former presidential candidate caught in a lie . Watch more on Edwards ' admission » . `` Until he called -- and it 's on the record that he called us on Friday and said , ' I want to talk . ' You know , that 's what broke the story . He was willing to admit that he had been lying , '' Snow said . Kurtz said news organizations were clinging to a very important standard : Do n't run allegations that you ca n't prove . `` But it became a ludicrous situation ... almost became a conspiracy of silence by the media . And Edwards , meanwhile , would not give interviews , was not acting like a man who did n't have something to hide . `` I think at that point we should have -- earlier than we did -- told readers and viewers what we knew and we did n't know , '' he said . In the ABC interview , Edwards also acknowledged meeting with Hunter at a hotel in Beverly Hills , California , at the request of a friend of hers last month . He said a blurry photograph published by the Enquirer that purportedly showed him holding Hunter 's child inside the hotel room could not be authentic , since the baby was not present at their meeting . He also said he is `` truly hopeful '' that a paternity test will be done to squelch the rumors that he fathered the child . A former Edwards campaign aide , Andrew Young , has publicly said the child is his . Speaking through her lawyer Saturday , Hunter said she would not participate in any sort of DNA testing . Edwards said Friday he `` will have nothing more to say '' about the allegations . But with questions still looming about the identity of the child 's father and the Enquirer standing by its reporting , the blogosphere will probably keep this story alive . `` I was taught when I was a young reporter that it 's news when we say it is . I think that 's still true -- it 's news when 'we ' say it is . It 's just who 'we ' is has changed , '' Carr said . `` Members of the public , people with modems , people with cell phones are now producers , editors . They can push and push and push on a story until it ends up being acknowledged by everyone . ''
Edwards admitted months that he had an affair in Friday . Tabloids , blogs had been covering the affair for Friday . Mainstream media did n't cover story because rumors were n't independently verified . John Edwards says he is not father of ex-mistress 's child .