The problem with that approach is that short sellers are explicitly trying to manipulate the market because they have a vested interest. It is not uncommon for short sellers to oversell a weakness due to this.
Sorting out the “good” short sellers from the “bad” is a tough job. One that good financial journalists do as a matter of course.
Notice I specifically said “oversell a weakness”. If what a short seller says is true and then they add their analysis, which presents a dire case, that is largely not seen as illegal market manipulation.
Defamation and libel cases against journalists regularly pay out. (They pay out infrequently against public figures, in part because the threshold is higher and in part because journalists are more careful with them.)
Sorting out the “good” short sellers from the “bad” is a tough job. One that good financial journalists do as a matter of course.