::::Nevermind. It's not just "lazy writers". Like you said, professional sources, including ones I cited above, also refer to the 2007–2009 events as "recession". In fact the NBER clearly says "The committee decided that any future downturn of the economy would be a new recession and not a continuation of the recession that began in December 2007." True, there are some sources that refer to the events as a "financial crisis", but it seems that "recession" is more commonly used, even in research organizations and other professional sources.