Reporting a Mayor’s Marital Woes, Minus One Significant Detail

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
Published: July 6, 2007
LOS ANGELES, July 5 — Mirthala Salinas, a television journalist here, learned on Thursday that it was not a wise career move to report that the mayor of Los Angeles was leaving his wife while failing to mention that she was dating him.

Ms. Salinas, a Spanish-language broadcaster for Telemundo, was placed on leave after she confirmed that she was in a relationship with the mayor, Antonio R. Villaraigosa.

“We are committed to journalistic excellence,” Manuel Abud, general manager of Telemundo in Los Angeles, said in a statement delivered in an e-mail message from Victor M. Franco, a station spokesman.

“Given the seriousness of the allegations that have been made, we have decided to conduct an internal review of the decisions and events that led us to where we are today,” the statement said.

Mr. Villaraigosa announced last month that he and his wife of 20 years, Corina, would separate. When asked at that time if he was involved with another woman, Mr. Villaraigosa declined to comment.

But this week, as The Los Angeles Daily News prepared to report that the mayor was involved with Ms. Salinas, he confirmed that he has been dating her for more than a year, and she acknowledged the relationship.

Mr. Villaraigosa, who has called Ms. Salinas a “consummate journalistic professional,” said she asked nearly a year ago to be removed from her role in covering Los Angeles City Hall, and was.

Mr. Franco of Telemundo declined to say when Ms. Salinas informed the station of her relationship, whether her leave was paid or unpaid or whether the station was concerned about the appearance of conflict in having her announce the breakup.

“We will conduct this investigation with the utmost respect to personal privacy and journalistic standards,” the statement read.

Mr. Villaraigosa’s marriage has been the subject of speculation for several months since he stopped wearing his wedding band, something he attributed this winter to weight loss. In 1994, his wife, who had been battling thyroid cancer, filed for divorce after Mr. Villaraigosa admitted to having an affair. But they reconciled. The mayor and his wife, a teacher, have two teenage children.

While the political fallout for Mr. Villaraigosa is uncertain, there has been ample criticism of the circumstances surrounding his relationship.

“It is a very fundamental principal of journalistic credibility that you don’t have entangling alliances of people you cover,” said Michael Josephson, president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles.