It's also a strain of criticism that should probably be applied more, not less to certain kinds of reporting in legacy media - reporting on SCOTUS, for example. Nina Totenberg presumably never had sex with anyone on the court, but may also have become too personally friendly with justices.

Totenberg having not one but *two* long term friendships with justices that were only disclosed after their deaths should have been the end of her career as a legal affairs correspondent.

I don't understand how we've never dealt with the totenberg issue. I have to turn off npr when they use her.

Right. Press shouldn’t be hostile towards politicians, but I remember all the fawning coverage John McCain got because so many reporters liked him personally.

No "may have". She was way, way over the line with RBG, way past the point where a disclosure statement would've been enough.