Today's reporters and editors are total ignoramuses when it comes to science, basic math, measurements, proportion and just plain common sense.
My mom used to tell a story from the early rocket days of the fifties when a scientist was explaining something to reporters about a rocket operating in the vacuum of space. One of the reporters asked, "And just what does this vacuum consist of?" The scientist muttered, "Reporters brains."
Of course, it can be pointed out that this is by no means a ridiculous question, from several points of view ... but that's the story!