The National Enquirer is known for reporting various abductions by aliens, or assorted Elvis Presley sightings, but as the saying goes, sometimes a blind squirrel finds the nut.

The coveted Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting did not go to the Enquirer. Instead, it went to The Philadelphia Daily News for work on uncovering a rogue Philadelphia police squad and to a reporter at the ProPublica reporting service who wrote about the decision to let desperately ill patients die at a hospital in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in a piece that was printed in The New York Times Magazine.

Both were outstanding examples of journalism, so why are some media pundits scratching their heads? Because it appears that reputation can diminish what ended up being an example of excellent reporting and investigating by reporters of the National Enquirer.

If not for the tireless work of the Enquirer, the scandal surrounding John Edwards may have never have come to light. The Enquirer kept writing reports which eventually led to forcing Edwards to finally admit paternity, and also led to a federal investigation into whether Edwards' campaign broke any laws by continuing to pay his mistress Rielle Hunter after she stopped working for the campaign.

Pretty strong stuff for any news organization, so were the judges biased against the gossipy tabloid? Not at all said one of the jurors who participated in the voting. They explained to James Rainy of the Los Angeles Times, “The fact that the main revelations had happened in a prior year was one factor against them.” The jurist also explained that, “There is a difference between a scoop or a ‘get' and a great investigation with a high degree of difficulty.”

Maybe so, but ponder this: Had it not been for the National Enquirer’s efforts to uncover and report the John Edwards scandal, it's possible Edwards could be in a key position in the government. Edwards could be vice president or in Obama's Cabinet. It could have seriously impacted the current administration.

So the next time you’re standing in line at the supermarket checkout, you might want to take a second look at the magazine that features the headline “I ate my foot while trapped in a refrigerator" and give it just a little more respect.