Neither article has to be a front page, thoroughly researched piece of journalism. Every story has a witness , an official recounting, a professional in authority, a suspect, a police record, etc. A good reporter doesn't have to go far to find someone who knows something about the event, even if trivial or blown out of proportion. Not that these accounts are necessarily untrue, but they are used frequently, as if everyone has something to hide. Newspapers play down, tabloids play up.
Tabloids can take the most mundane events and find supernatural specters in every corner.
Newspapers will stick to the facts at hand, keeping the teen's quotes to a minimum, and reporting the official police reaction. Papers seeking to bury the story or discredit the wit-nesses may bring up a questionable past, through former arrests, past or current drug use, or psychological counseling. The Inexplicable can often be attributed to swamp gas, ball lightning, cloud formations, etc. The Red Herring. Tabloids, due to overzealousness, or a desire to generate sales, may create articles out of thin air.