*Newscaster, homewrecker

Talk about your HR challenges. If she hasn't already done so, Mirthala Salinas soon will be meeting with her boss - maybe her boss's boss's boss - to discuss, er, "the situation." Perhaps everyone over at Channel 52 knew about her relationship with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (the folks at City Hall obviously were clued in). But now that the whole world knows, those NBC-Telemundo-owned station managers must figure out how to deal with a pretty awkward situation. Specifically, do they keep Salinas on air? Do they give her a higher profile or a lower one? Do they simply move her to a Telemundo station in another market?

Now granted, this part of the story is really none of our business. I mean, no one has elected this woman to public office (Villaraigosa's transgressions are another matter). Yet it's an interesting dilemma because there's more involved here than someone's personal life. This is commerce, baby. We all know that if Salinas stays on the air, it guarantees a boost in viewership (she instantly becomes like a character in one of the telenovelas that Channel 52 airs). But keeping her in front of a camera is also sleazy and cynical and so totally 2007. Whenever she goes out in the field, she'll become a much bigger story than whatever it is she's covering. And what happens when she accompanies Villaraigosa at social events? What if she hears things that a regular reporter would never be in a position to hear? Of course, this assumes that the relationship gets past these next few days (if indeed it is a relationship). Here's the Daily News story.

*Hot and getting hotter: The LAT's Steve Lopez has his own take on the unfolding drama:

Once again, Villaraigosa requested "that people respect my family's privacy." But let's not forget that the last time he asked for privacy after announcing that he and his wife were splitting, he then quickly called a press conference. I suspect he'll call another one any day now, and it can't be too soon. Among other things, we need to know if Telemundo news anchor Salinas, who referred to Villaraigosa's split as a "political scandal" on the air, is moving into the mayoral mansion. Are girlfriends allowed in there? And we need to know if the former Tony Villar, who blended his last name with that of wife Corina Raigosa, will now be Mayor Antonio Villarsalinas.