Yep. It seems logical that an high profile reporter might be a target for other potential attackers who are not the NSA. Even if it's just some smart teenager

Yep. It seems logical that an high profile reporter might be a target for other potential attackers who are not the NSA. Even if it's just some smart teenager somewhere, doing it "for the lulz" to say they got someone of that level. I can also imagine that an investigative journalist, whose livelihood is made in part based upon tips received from people external to the newsroom, might easily become a target for a spear phishing attack from any of those potential actors. But to immediately attribute this to the NSA strictly based on the facts laid down in this article, that seems like making a heavy use of a Jump to Conclusions Mat.