With the investment world being more exposed, and the research funding incentives, I seriously doubt it's just about reporting what people want to click. If I've learned anything in the last 15 years I've been paying attention - hype is more important than fundamentals for investment.

No doubt you're correct about Aspiring's incentives, but I don't think Laurie Winkless at IEEE Spectrum gets a payout if they close an investment round.