"Eh, "[insert stable, mature MVC framework] is dying/dead/etc" articles are a dime a dozen on the Web. I suppose it could be considered a badge of honor for a framework to have some internet punter declare the framework as "dead"."

Well said, people confuse hype, growth with death. If something is not hyped or people some folks are switching to something else then it is prematurely declared "as dead" which is a fallacy of thinking.