As the John Edwards affair story continues to sink in, it’s time for some mainstream media self-reflection.

The New York Times’ Richard Perez-Pena and Bill Carter look at why there was a, “reticence of the mainstream media,” in covering the story.

After noting MSNBC only touched on the story by way of a David Letterman clip and CNN did not mention the story once (well, that information sounds familiar), CNN political director Sam Feist weighs in. He says CNN, “had been working the story since it first broke in The Enquirer late last year,” but, “You have to have some sort of evidence before you put something on the air.”

The Times looks inward as well, and echoes a sentiment brought up throughout the article: “Bill Keller, the executive editor, said in an e-mail message that Mr. Edwards’s dark-horse status and the ‘added hold-your-nose quality about The Enquirer’ contributed to the lack of interest by The Times and the mainstream media generally.”