Yep this is a common issue with long-form journalism. It's formulaic in that lenghtly and relatively uncompelling prose is mixed in with a more compelling story. Arcing back around to that original (usually human interest) topic tries to keep the reader on the hook just enough to put up with the often painfully slow trickle of high-value information.

Paradoxically I often find that kind of article simultaneously enjoyable and hugely frustrating. It's exactly like Mythbusters and many other shows where there's 5 mins of compelling content in a 40 minute program and they keep cutting and replaying to drag it all out.