The media wanted Smollett's story to be true

 Greg Gutfeld:

This is why the media fell for Jussie Smollett's hoax 

It's not a hoax if it reflects your own fantasies

...

Ah, it's not their fault - it's just a natural reaction. Yeah, it's a natural reaction if you wanted it to be true. Because you invested so much in the notion that America is full of white male racists. But this is their M.O. – turn the news faucet on, then, magically, turn it off.

Because the media is hoping the same people who easily bought the Smollett hoax when they championed it – won't find it now that their own feverish fantasies turned out to be false.
...

See, it's not a hoax if it reflects your own fantasies. It's like a psycho stalking a famous actress and convincing himself the actress has the same feelings for him. To him, it's not a fantasy – it really exists. (I should probably apologize to Kathy Bates.)

Unfortunately for them, the media's need for racist hate crimes is like Xanax at "The View" – the demand far outweighs the supply.
...

The media was as big a loser as Smollett in this fiasco.  They desperately wanted his fraud to be true.