Why the secrecy? Because the media (and, by extension, citizens who listen) are deemed uppity: they assault the slightest mishap—an allergic reaction, for instance—at reality's expense.
Consider two fictional headlines: “Everybody is healthy” and “Man gets H1N1, blames vaccine.” The former is statistically closer to truth, but the latter is more interesting, regardless of its significance.
Journalists tell stories, not truth. We hate spreading rumours, but a job is a job: on those disastrous days when planes land, politicians parlay and bridges bridge, we have to improvise.
Last week I tried to connect a fatal fire at a women's shelter to a suspicious one at a women's boarding house, just because both involved one gender. It's an engrossing but misleading story or it's non-news. (As a moral compromise, I discarded almost all my work, paining my editors, my mark and my mood.)
Which is better: public outcry over a near-certain non-issue, or media silence around an unimportant but compelling story?