I never thought of that either.
Anyone who has compared the ratios of Pneumonia/SARS cases and Pneumonia/Flu cases, couldn't possibly continue to minimize SARS unless they: 1) Were not appreciative of the semantic content of the words, 2) Were in deep denial, or 3) Actually had some kind of agenda where they didn't want people warned of the potential threat.
Personally, I think FR has some of each, including #3.
FR is high profile enough to attract attention from professional public relations firms. I would not even be surprised if we had someone posting on behald of communist China. The obvious agenda would be to downplay SARS and make China look good. But China might also pay to squelch any rumors that might get started about man-made viruses.