You guys are being way too tough on Karen. I completely understand her approach.
If most people have no problems redeeming miles, there's no story. News is the unusual - if the system is working, that's not news for most media outlets.
On the other hand, a "consumer" type piece on how to use all those miles would indeed be a great idea.
The other thing is, if a journalist does some research and hears about problems redeeming miles, then it's totally appropriate to try and find some real people and see whether their stories fit the initial premise of the story. But you can't just go out and say "I'm going to do a story on frequent flyer miles whether it's a happy story or a tragic story"... The happy story is not a story at all (unless it's an informative piece for consumers)