No, members of the media aren't elected to anything. Neither are police officers, or doctors, or any of the other professions that are accorded some legal protections for doing their jobs.

Personally, I've never destroyed anyone's character. I have been there, however, when several people were revealed to be without character, and thus wrote about it. Shooting the messenger is a very old stratagem. Quite often, those complaining most bitterly about the terrible media are just sore at having been caught out.

Sure, good journalism has been done without a federal shield law; but that doesn't necessarily mean that one wouldn't be helpful. Your pizza delivery driver could make his rounds on a bicycle, but having a car makes that job much more practical. Miller's mistakes involved excessive credulity, and blind acceptance of a certain political slant. They weren't related to whether or not source names should be protected.