I don't think the media are solely to blame, big picture wise, but for the scope of what this article covers, I think focusing on the media is appropriate. This is not to say that science can't revamp conventions and practices on their end. And there's not a perfect balance between media freedom and media scrutiny of science.

That said, one could make the argument that it's not the media's fault that in any given month, a photogenic (and perhaps blonde) woman has been kidnapped or murdered. However, it is the media's fault when they saturate the airwaves and print with such incidents at the detriment of other news and information, even if readers gobble it up.