TechCrunch is not worse or better than any other news source. They want to get traffic and to achieve that they cover what is interesting to their readers, namely innovation and successful startups. It's good for them to cover the most promising stories, preferably before competitors, to increase readership. TechCrunch and co are not corrupted, but their inboxes are overwhelmed with interesting stories. To sort through that they have only a few options:

1) They know you because you had success in the past 2) You were referred by someone they trust 3) Your story is compelling (with a bonus if you give them some kind of exclusivity)

The thing is, once you have achieved 1) and 2) you can consistently get covered much more easily. And it would appear that you get preferential treatment while in fact you built that reputation over time (often with a lot of hard work).