Few news outlets are further behind the curve than nightly broadcasts on local television. So when copyright trolling becomes fodder for outraged evening news coverage, it's a sign the backlash against the practice has truly gone mainstream.

The activist site Fight Copyright Trolls points to a pair of news segments that were broadcast on KGUN 9 in Tucson, AZ. The first features Jenny Phan, a young mother of two and Tucson nail salon owner who received a threatening letter from an attorney representing the pornographic movie producers Elegant Angel Productions. The movie Phan stands accused of pirating has a title "we can't repeat on TV."

Phan denies downloading the movie. But the porn company's lawyer argues that it doesn't matter. He says Phan is responsible for material downloaded using her connection whether or not she was the one who actually downloaded it.

Channel 9 interviewed an EFF attorney who described such threats as "very scary." As reporter Tammy Vo puts it, "even if defendants like Jenny decide to face the embarrassment of fighting porn piracy charges, it'll cost more to get an attorney than it would to fork over the $3500 to make the case go away."

"I just feel mad," Phan said. "You know, we work hard for our money." The news anchor described the incident as "outrageous."

In a follow-up segment the next night, Vo interviewed a computer security expert who said it would be "nearly impossible" to prove that Phan was responsible for sharing the video. The expert noted "millions of machines" have been turned into zombies by trojans.

The porn trolling problem is familiar to longtime Ars readers; we've been covering the topic since 2010. But now such litigation has become so common, and so obviously extortionate, that it is drawing attention from the most mainstream of media outlets. This can only add to the hostile climate copyright trolls are already facing in the courtroom.