> Why is Big Media talking about it now?
Because it isn’t — the source for this is Christian Post. And Ballard was very diplomatic in his handling of this, but said, he wasn’t confirming or denying, and that there was no way to confirm or deny a Noachian Flood.
Ballard has to be careful how he words things in order to maintain credibility in scientific circles. Without extremely strong evidence, it is tough there to advocate a position which might be viewed as controversial, at least by some scientists.
It should be the same standard for any claimed scientific discovery, and the data should be available for all to examine. (Which is partly why the Global Warming/Climate Change thingy has devolved into a cult instead of science.)
Ballard will do it right, present his findings, and for now at least let the reader draw their own conclusions.