[PeppyGPhiB]

We hear about these stories now because of the Internet. In years past, stories like this one were printed in the local paper and reported on by the local TV station, and that's where it ended (because it wasn't a big enough deal to warrant coverage by the big, expensive national newspapers and network TV). These days, news stories run on newspapers' and TV stations' websites, where readers/viewers copy/paste the article or URL to Facebook, Twitter and websites like this one.