this particular reporter didn't do very thorough research
Clearly. Recent journalistic standards have definitely fallen far below what they once were. And some people wonder why newspapers are dying? Hmmm - could it be that so many reporters seem to think research is a complete waste of time?! Though, sadly, when it comes to DS, lack of familiarity with the facts has been an ongoing problem for a few decades already...
As I understand it, reporters now just lean on "experts" as a crutch to allow them to get out of doing research themselves. They assume one of the "experts" on their rolodex, or whatever they have now, will have all the facts, and all they have to do is call and get a quote. They just take their word I guess.
In the case of the Fest, maybe a pamphlet on the Fest was his "expert".