I think part of the issue with all journalism is that there are too many outlets for news. Used to be you had your local paper, your three local news stations, and maybe some coverage on the local radio. Now you've got the papers, the local tv stations, all sports national radio, all sports local radio, multiple sports channels on cable tv, websites, blogs, etc. etc. There isn't enough news to fill all of that space so you have to do outrageous and/or obnoxious things to get attention.