Why can't the news media figure out the difference between Crocodiles and Alligators?

Question

Yahoo News and CNN were talking about the Youtube video featuring a baby Water buffalo being attacked by Lions and then Crocodiles. And yet they all list the attack from Lions and Alligators. Are they that stupid to believe that Alligators live in Africa? The film was shot in Kruger National Park in South Africa. There are no alligators there...
Don't these people check their sources?

Answer 1

Most reporters are graduates of university-based schools of journalism. A quick check of the curriculum of these schools will show there is no core curriculum requirement for the study of geography, science, history, etc. They come away with the ability to read and write press releases. The anchors in the U.S. belong to the same trade union as Jay Leno and David Letterman: American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
As for checking sources, even the best in the industry don't do that too well. In 1988, Dan Rather hosted an award winning TV documentary entitled "The Wall Within". It purported to show how the lives of several men had been changed, physically and emotionally, by their service in Vietnam. None had ever been in Vietnam!
The really sad part of all this is that some international news organizations are beginning to take on the bad habits of their U.S. colleagues.