(1) The 'news' is bait for the ad hook. (2) Good bait needs to get attention. (3) The ancient Greeks discovered that a sure-fire way to get and hold the atten

(1) The 'news' is bait for the ad hook. (2) Good bait needs to get attention. (3) The ancient Greeks discovered that a sure-fire way to get and hold the attention of an audience was to use the techniques we now call 'formula fiction'. (4) The news is staffed heavily by humanities majors well acquainted with formula fiction. (5) The news, in order to get attention, is really mostly just light entertainment based on the techniques of formula fiction. (6) The old idea that a free press was to help create an "informed citizenry" as needed for a good democracy rarely competes with the approach of light entertainment. (7) There is more information available, but long "the medium is the message" held true -- that is, when have just a few major news outlets, those outlets go for the mass audience and omit special interests, the long tail, details, etc. and just stick with their light entertainment. (8) With the Internet, there are millions of 'outlets' so that we can be on the way to much more information beyond just light entertainment. For the OP, for the light entertainment based on the techniques of formula fiction, getting details, facts, etc. correct was not very important. This is not new: There is an Andy Hardy movie from the 1930s that has Andy laughing at the poor accuracy of the news. The audiences for that movie in the 1930s were quite prepared to laugh at newspapers. For anyone with the discipline of a good STEM background, news is outrageously bad and irresponsible junk.