First, condolences to the family, loved ones and colleagues of the pilot who expired during flight.
This post is about the media.
Listening to multiple media sources the reports generally makes statements such as "passengers panic in the air", "flight in serious risk", etc.
At times I will defend the media simply because certain knowledge cannot be expected, but how they come up with certain stories is mindboggling.
The passengers never knew about the fate in the cockpit, only that the pilot was not feeling well. I have been on a flight where there was an unscheduled landing with the same type of announcement (saw the pilot ultimately escorted out by EMT) and certainly no panic at that time.
About serious risk, give me a break. Sure it increases the workload of the other pilot, but nothing that he or she cannot handle.