the most common meaning of the word, the one 
    that 99% of all people who read it are going to 
    think is computer criminals. Perhaps PBS 
    should consider the power and pervasiveness of 
    the common tongue before writing articles.

Sadly, I agree. Outside certain subcultures--the ones that dominate HN, for instance--hacker means cracker. You really can't blame the average PBS watcher or Facebook user for not knowing this.