It's coverage like this that the Times was talking about over the weekend when it came to mega-celebrity and uber-brand Lance Armstrong: The man may be able to campaign for cancer research and attach his name to a new health website, but where the paid-for marketing goes, so too does the gossip chronicling. Which means every time he shows up to a late night talk show, the gossip blogs will caption his photos entering and exiting the set with "homewrecker," thanks to him "stealing" Kate Hudson away from mentally fragile Owen Wilson; his name won't be boldfaced without the mentions of his various liaisons with Sheryl Crow (a couple years), Tory Burch (a couple months), and Ashley Olsen (a couple minutes). But this really isn't a case of Mr. Armstrong "tolerating" or "dealing with" this type of coverage.

Because he, like many celebrities, knows the power of fame — and its never-ending reach.

In January 2007, Mr. Armstrong read a Vanity Fair profile of Ms. Burch, a wealthy Manhattan social figure who had drawn upon her Main Line upbringing to create a successful fashion brand. The article mentioned Ms. Burch was divorcing, and Mr. Armstrong contacted her out of the blue.

Sympathy is not exactly the emotion that's conjured up when we hear about somebody who uses Vanity Fair as a dating service.