I think if this did sell newspapers in the way that you suggest, we'd all be doing it a lot more about other platforms besides the F-35....and we're not.
Two comments:
1. They'd all be doing it? I don't ascribe this behavior to "all" the press. I believe most of the press is more responsible than that.
2. Extreme high visibility programs like the F-35 tend to generate what I will call a feeding frenzy. Irresponsible press make sensationalist claims, the claims go viral, and the responsible press picks it up. This happened with the end of the world in 2012 "prophecy" (based on a Mayan calendar!!), with the vaccines cause autism frenzy, with the Y2K tech apocalypse, with the silicon breast implant frenzy, the Alar-tainted apple frenzy, and many more too numerous to mention. The V-22 (another big, hi viz program) attracted its share of feeding frenzies. As did the M-1 Abrams tank, way back in the day. Even Space X vs ULA/EELV generated a feeding frenzy. F-35 and V-22 are unique in that the programs went on and on and on and so did their feeding frenzies.
Or maybe I'm seeing this all wrong.