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These distinctions are hugely important in terms of how one handles infections, as well as implications of infection in terms of others around the patient. Droplet precautions only require masks, gloves and sometimes gowns; AIRBORNE precautions require negative-pressure ventilation to ensure no/little transmission to others via a very infective route. Airborne is WAY more concerning in general, at least in terms of transmission. This is sloppy reporting at best.

If you haven't done it yet, read the "Hot Zone" available on line. It's not fiction. It details some of the Ebola outbreaks up until the time it was written in the mid-90's. Ebola, in the lab, is treated as a class 4 virus and is always worked on in a negative pressure environment. The book also details Ebola Reston, which was definitely airborne in every sense of the word. Ebola Reston is so similar to Ebola Zaire (the kind in West Africa and the most deadly to humans) that they at first thought they were dealing with Eboloa Zaire. Anyways, I would recommend the book to ramp up the learning curve about Ebola and the various strains. It's well written and a fast read.