Actually, I think they made their big mistake by attacking the networks themselves. Nothing changes a reporter's point of view as quickly as being targeted, ditto for a news organization.
When you say "they made their big mistake by attacking the networks," are you talking about the U.S. military and the number of journalists we've killed? Those killings were very regrettable in my opinion, and they hurt our coverage a lot, although I don't see how they could have been avoided.
Or are you saying that the terrorists have been targeting journalists?