@d_a_n_a @Standard_Phil @MissConstrue
Also, the courts are likely to treat Tracey as a member of the media, which they tend to treat very circumspectly because of the First Amendment. Even something as egregious as this is likely to result in a warning rather than real punishment.
@VATVSLPR @d_a_n_a @Standard_Phil
I don't know how that works with indie journalists nowadays. I know how it worked in the before times; in that was it was very difficult to claim press privilege if you did not in fact, have a press card, ie you were not employed by a press organization.
I will be honest and say that I have not tracked how that has changed in the era of internet independent media, which is a massive part of our information landscape now.
@MissConstrue @d_a_n_a @Standard_Phil
My impression is the courts are more permissive now. They won't necessarily let anyone with a phone call themselves a reporter because they're taking video, but someone who has a history of acting like media is likely to be treated as media. There isn't a bright line like a press pass anymore, but Tracey would likely wind up on the "real media" side of whatever vague and fuzzy line a court used instead.
@MissConstrue @d_a_n_a @Standard_Phil
Put another way, Michael Tracey has enough of a media presence to rate a Wikipedia article. A lot of us knew who you were talking about without having to ask "who's this Michael Tracey guy?" That seems like evidence he's a genuine media figure and not just someone (hypothetically) claiming media privilege to cover their ass.
@VATVSLPR @d_a_n_a @Standard_Phil
Yeah, I am sure he will qualify, I was just saying I didn't know where the line was any more.
@MissConstrue @d_a_n_a @Standard_Phil
I've seen news reports where little local websites, including some run by minors, were treated as bona fide media if they had been at it for long enough to show a pattern of reporting news. Those cases were mostly about local governments trying to shut the sites down because they didn't like the reporting. I don't know how the courts would treat that kind of reporter if they were disclosing information from documents covered by a protective order.