I'm not surprised that the ACLU and others seem to think that anyone recording with a smartphone should be designated "media" and be free to do what they want without police intervention. This is yet another example of moving the goalposts and redefining terms for their convenience.
It used to be the case that bona fide members of the media had credentials identifying who they were and what media outlet they worked for. that made it very easy to both identify and verify them. Perhaps we need a return to that.
The other thing these people seem to overlook that media is supposed to report the events and not be part of them (Yeah, that's

given the state of the media in $CURRENT_YEAR). If they were so concerned about being needlessly arrested, they would distance themselves from those they were originally embedded with that go on to commit violence or other illegal acts that draw police attention. Instead, they want what boils down to a literal get out of jail free card so they can participate in the violence and somehow be immune to arrest.
And as was discussed earlier, it's no surprise the MSM is either glossing over or memory holing the full body cam footage in order to maintain the victim facade on their George Floyd narrative. Whomever mentioend it in the past 24 hours was correct that most people are concerned about improper or heavy-handed policing while at the same time put off the violent response that's taken place in response.