This age of digital imaging is going to make it damned near impossible to put any trust in the newz media, or anyone, for that matter. Reputable newz services should demand non-digital imaging for their reporting.
The news services should adhere to National Geographic's standard. They require their photographers FedEx them the original memory cards. Photographers are not allowed to delete or alter any images.
The editors then scrutinize any questionable images to make sure that they could logically have occurred relative to the other images on the card.
This type of situation is exactly why companies like Canon have introduced products like the "Data Verification Kit" for their digital SLR cameras. I don't know how far it goes towards preventing manipulation, but it does lend authenticity to the original image.
Here's a brief description of the kit's function:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0401/04012903canondvke2.asp