Truth is, the mainstream media(NBC, CNN,ABC, and CBS) love to run 'drone gone crazy' stories because they are sensational and liven up a broadcast.
The media take what is fed to them a lot of the time.
In the case of this drone(s) that created a problem for the Newark Airport, the pilot that reported it was fairly high up and descending into Newark for a landing.
if the pilot was travelling at about 150 mph and was coming in to land and was at 3,500 feet, things happen very quickly.
He told authorities he saw the drone 30 feet off his starboard(right) wing.
We may never conclusively know what this pilot saw;however, if he did see a drone, I hope the owner of the drone is eventually caught and fined and perhaps jailed for doing something very dangerous closeby an airport.
That said, I do feel that drones do come in for unfair criticism because there are plenty of cases where a pilot sees something which they cannot identify.
And the ' go to ' word they use is 'drone'.
In some cases, the word 'drone' has become a very convenient whipping post for things pilots see but cannot identify.