peoples mind set is actually changing right now, alot of people dont think of bitcoin as a scam currency, but as "another currency".. so when news talks about bitcoin being used, the mindset is not "oh crap bitcoin is bad" but more like "oh the scammers dont want to use a credit card, cash or paypal"
there was yet another use of bitcoin on the TV show 'the goodwife' this year where the blackmailer tool that encrypts hard drives was the centre of attention and the payment method was bitcoin.. the emphasis was on the scam not bitcoin. bitcoin was just a side mention, treated as just a useful payment method.. there was no chatter about bitcoin being bad, no chatter about bitcoin being hard to purchase or even any chatter about risks of bitcoin.. the characters simply paid the amount and then argued for half the episode about the scammers
It could go both ways. Some people will get the message:
"If the blackmailers are willing to risk jail, or even infect and kill a bunch of people just to get bitcoins - the bitcoin must be worthwhile"
But there's probably other group, those who only watch the headlines, and they may get something like:
"ebola=bitcoin=panic=terrorism"
Personally I don't see a problem with that sort of publicity. As long as media don't twist the story into "terrorists demand ebola, or they'll release bitcoin" - it's all good.
