I think that the journalists desired sensational news far too much and they exaggerated.

sensational 是形容词，由名词 sensation（感觉、轰动）加上后缀 -al 构成。sensation 来自动词 sense（感知），所以 sensational 字面意思是"引起轰动的、给人强烈感觉的"，常用来形容"耸人听闻的、哗众取宠的"新闻内容。