A new press policy at the Pentagon is causing tensions between major media outlets and the Trump administration, as some organizations refuse to sign it. News outlets must agree and sign by 5 p.m. ET Tuesday or hand over their press badges.
Thus far, The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Reuters, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Newsmax and The Washington Times all say they won’t sign.
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Matt Murray, the Washington Post’s executive editor, said, “The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information.”
Fox News, the former employer of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has not indicated whether it will sign the pledge.
What the policy entails
The policy requires reporters to acknowledge that they won’t seek or solicit any information that the Department of Defense has not pre-approved, even if the knowledge is unclassified.
It also warns that Pentagon personnel “may face adverse consequences for unauthorized disclosures.” The policy states that asking agency personnel to “commit criminal acts” by disclosing unauthorized information is not protected under the First Amendment.
News organizations, however, called the new policy a gag order, saying it violates First Amendment rights and muzzles reporting on how a nearly $1 trillion department spends taxpayer money.
The New York Times’s Washington bureau chief, Richard Stevenson, said, “The public has a right to know how the government and military are operating.”
Pentagon’s response
Following backlash from news outlets, reporters and press freedom advocacy groups, Pentagon Press Secretary Sean Parnell issued a statement.
He said media outlets “have decided to move the goal post.” Parnell insisted the policy merely requires an acknowledgment, not an agreement. He also reminded journalists that access to the building is a “privilege, not a right.”
Hegseth also got involved in the conversation, sharing a post on X that said, “Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right.”
Additional Pentagon changes
The new policy is the latest change to press coverage at the Pentagon. Back in January, the Pentagon sent a memo saying it would regularly rotate news organizations out of dedicated office spaces. The change forced NBC News, The New York Times, NPR and Politico out of their office spaces.
Media movement within the building has also changed, according to The Wall Street Journal. It said for decades, reports with identification badges had broad, unfettered access to nonclassified areas of the Pentagon. Media officials could walk the halls and visit officials’ offices.
However, earlier this year, the agency limited where reporters could go without escorts. Hegseth reiterated these new rules on X, saying, “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility.”
Other media limitations
The Pentagon is not the only federal building making changes to media access. This year, the Trump administration also took control of seating arrangements at White House briefings, adding new spots for what they call “new media” outlets, such as podcasters.
Some news organizations, including The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal, have been barred from attending certain events.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Pentagon’s memo on press office spaces was issued in February. The memo was issued at the end of January, and the story has been updated to reflect the corrected information. Straight Arrow News regrets this error.
