And what it depends on, of course, is whether the story itself is worth the ethical compromise it requires and whether the competition is onto the story.

The networks found themselves having to compete for an increasingly Balkanized audience.

For decades, the journalistic norm had been that the private lives of public officials remained private unless that life impinged on public performance.

And what it depends on, of course, is whether the story itself is worth the ethical compromise it requires and whether the competition is onto the story.

In exchange for power, influence, command and a place in history, a president gives up the bulk of his privacy.

The ethics of editorial judgement, however, began to go though a sea change during the late 1970s and 80s when the Carter and Reagan Administrations de-regulated the television industry.

Journalists, who are skeptical to begin with, simply do not like to be lied to or made fools of.