EXCLUSIVE
With its bracing expose of former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's "lust child," the financially-stricken L.A. Times has once again proven that it can still break important stories in its backyard.
Weeks after it won a Pulitzer for its reporting on financial misconduct in the city of Bell, the paper delivered another major scoop, forcing the former muscleman to disclose the secret that broke up his 25-year marriage to Maria Shriver.
The paper is keeping a tight lid on the details of how it unearthed the story of Schwarzenegger's out of wedlock child with a housekeeper.
But TheWrap has learned about the chain of events that led to a first story of the couple's split on May 9 and the subsequent one about the child.
It started when the paper received a tip about a love child and checked out his birth certificate, available at the L.A. Department of Public Health.
The document did not list Schwarzenegger as the father. The mother was listed as Mildred Patricia Pena, and not with her actual last name, which is Baena. The father was listed as Rogelio Baena, Mildred's husband who she divorced shortly after the birth of the child.
Using the names, veteran political reporter Mark Z. Barabak and court reporter Victoria Kim were able to search on the Internet and find a photo of the child. According to an individual close to the paper, he “looked a lot like Arnold.”
It was that strong resemblance that gave the Times reporters the confidence to continue to pursue the story. (TheWrap has seen photos of the child, and he bears a striking resemblance to Schwarzenegger.)
A spokesperson for the Times would not comment about the paper’s editorial process when contacted by TheWrap, nor would the reporters, who deferred requests to the Times spokesperson.
“State secret,” the spokesperson said.
"We received a tip," Robin Abcarian told the "Today" show on Thursday. "We began working that tip."
"We began investigating that and using, I have to say, good old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting we were able to confirm that there was, in fact, a child with a former household staffer," Abcarian continued. "We brought the information to Schwarzenegger and he confirmed it to us."
Abcarian said that Barabak received the initial tip, though it's not exactly clear when.
What is clear, however, is that the Times’ dogged reporting on Schwarzenegger before and during his term as governor likely led to the paper being the recipient of the explosive tip, rather than, say, TMZ.
The L.A. Times took a barrage of criticism for publishing investigative stories about Schwarzenegger's alleged groping and harrassment of women during his run for governor in 2003.
"I think they're on a bit of a roll," Kevin Roderick, publisher of LA Observed and a former reporter and editor at the Times, told TheWrap.
