Steve, I agree with most of your post and you make several excellent points. But I'd say this is a separate issue that should probably be left for another day and another discussion, as it risks muddying the waters.
There are so many issues wrapped up in the topic of media chasers that it's hard to begin. My anecdotal experience -- over quite a few years of chasing, much of it in the media circus of OK -- says the average media chaser is far more reckless than the average private chaser. I think there's often an inflated sense of purpose and importance that borders on delusion, especially for those who provide live TV coverage, where money and ratings are serious business. In the OKC market, I've even witnessed LEOs providing cover for reckless TV chasers, which must greatly amplify their sense that any and all risks on the road are justified in the name of "keeping the viewers safe."
This is more true than not. Although, I do think El Reno made a small lasting impact on plenty of serious chasers, from what I've seen. It's not going to completely reconstruct how most of us chase, but it might make us think twice when we knowingly enter particularly risky situations with similarities to past tragedies. I'm hardly an optimist, but I actually think both El Reno and yesterday might make some meaningful difference with a decent share of chasers, even if not nearly as much as you'd hope.
There's always potential liability in sense that a precedent can be established through legal victory in a potential civil suit. This has been brought up before on the site.
