Drama-queen for "center"

Pack journalism is a well-known evil in my sometimes-field, but my peers seem to pack even tighter on word usage. One of them hits on a hot new word, which seems to make them look intelligent or dramatic, and suddenly it's everywhere, constantly.

Ugh.

This New York Times column highlights some of the latest: trope, besotted, and epi-center--a drama queen's version of "center."

Then there is "battling cancer," which is oddly specific to cancer. Never battling diabetes. And worse, as the piece points out, the implication that cancer is overcome by people with courage or fighting spirit. It really does, doesn't it? That's the impression I come away with in those stories: it's not about chemo or radiation or genetics, early detection of plain old luck. It's the fiery determination of the fighter gritting her teeth every morning and declaring internally, You won't get me, cancer!

Yeah, that's how it works.

Why are so many journalists such bad writers?