It maybe semantics but I see difference in this being surgical strike, at multiple locations. The article explains what surgical strike is and strikes of that kind, at multiple locations, hasn't happened that often. The part that it wasn't made official before, on very few occasions it happened is true with reason being it meant a counter was done while continuing the outer pretense of solving through dialogue. It also helped pretend or be in denial that things are not bad as well. That's not true though. Violation of ceasefire from Pak has increased recently and there was Uri attack. Don't forget Pathankot too. Pakistan has never proactively or genuinely tried to reach peace. Maybe it is because of Army power in that country but whatever the reason, there is a limit till which India can keep on trying for peace, one-sided.
That the attack is made official isn't only to please media (Here too we can't generalize. Media has been more of left leaning in India till now. Now some take nationalistic stands, other stick to the supposed 'liberal' side. The general public has wanted some concrete reaction and not just in last 2 years but for many years. Being tough on terrorists and militants crossing into country was a key expectation from BJP led government.
A key reason I see that India is able to make it official is also because of the diplomatic work being done on this topic by current government for past 2 years on global level. In each and every forum India is highlighting Pak's role in terrorist activities. If Pakistan runs to US over these strikes like before, they are not going to get support anymore. Within this region, India has got support from Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Bangladesh has supported these strikes. So, the geopolitical situation and leverage India has on global scale, is different now than it was before. Making it official before would have attracted global pressure. Now, it will be lot lesser, if any.