It only matters for people who have to calculate falling things. If a person doesn't have do that, then one can postulate all they want. They don't have to make calculations to solve a real problems or make life better. The same goes for the shape of the earth. The reality is for some people knowing the proper shape of the earth is absolutely necessary in order to make proper calculations for real life scenarios.
For example, if you have been in the navy or worked in a lot of fields (I could give you a long list) you certainly have to know that the earth is the globe that it is. That is, if you work in the real world.
It's not "media hype". It's well known facts that have been known for several millennia.
I suppose if you don't have to know the shape of the earth in your jobs or interests, it would make no difference to you whether the earth was flat or round. In one of the Sherlock Holmes novels, Doctor Watson is amazed that Holmes tells him that he doesn't care whether the sun goes around the earth or the earth goes around the sun, because it is of no importance to him.