If you really care what the internet is saying about your business, you should be checking regularly. If you don't care about the internet (and I know several local businesses that don't), then its not a problem to bring up.
Yes hackernews should improve. Anyone can post anything anywhere. But they all allow the other person to clarify things and comment.
I do care about internet because my clients care. I lost a client because of this reason and he told me about it after I asked multiple questions.
As for 'check every site possible' - you should probably be checking the ones you care about on a regular basis. For instance, googling your company name (a 'vanity search'). HN is actually pretty small potatoes compared to FB, Twitter, Yelp!, etc. You might want to check those sites too. And I kid you not, there are companies will 'manage your online reputation' if you would prefer to just outsource it.