US media reject Pentagon rules limiting access to official info
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Top US media organizations push back against new Pentagon policy seen as a threat to press freedom and independent reporting.
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Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell gestures while speaking during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Washington (AP)
Several of the United States’ most prominent media organizations have refused to sign a new set of Pentagon regulations that would bar journalists from obtaining “unauthorized material” and limit their access to certain areas without official escorts.
The Defense Department, led by Secretary Pete Hegseth, had set a Tuesday 5 pm deadline for reporters to agree to the policy or face revocation of their press credentials within 24 hours. The directive, introduced last month, has sparked widespread backlash from news organizations that see it as a direct challenge to press freedom.
It follows an earlier shake-up in February, when long-accredited outlets were abruptly told to vacate their assigned workspaces under what officials described as an “annual media rotation program.” A similar reshuffle later occurred at the White House, where several seats in the briefing room were reallocated to podcasters and non-traditional media figures.
Leading outlets refuse to sign
On Monday, The Washington Post joined The New York Times, CNN, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Reuters, Associated Press, NPR, HuffPost, and Breaking Defense in declining to sign the agreement
Matt Murray, executive editor of The Washington Post, said the policy contradicts constitutional guarantees of press freedom. “The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information,” Murray wrote in a statement on X.
“We will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of the Pentagon and officials across the government,” Murray added.
Media call policy an affront to press freedom
The Atlantic, which earlier this year clashed with Pentagon and White House officials after its editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a private Signal chat, said it “fundamentally” opposed the new restrictions. A statement from The New York Times described the policy as a direct attempt to curb transparency. “The new policy constrains how journalists can report on the US military, which is funded by nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars annually,” it said.
“The public has a right to know how the government and military are operating,” added the Times’ Washington bureau chief, Richard Stevenson.
Secretary Hegseth responded to the criticism on social media with a dismissive tone, posting a single waving-hand emoji in apparent farewell to the dissenting outlets.
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 13, 2025
Later, he shared a post on X titled “Press Credentialing FOR DUMMIES,” listing points such as: “Press no longer roams free,” “Press must wear visible badge,” and “Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts.”
Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right. So, here is @DeptofWar press credentialing FOR DUMMIES:
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 13, 2025
✅ Press no longer roams free
✅ Press must wear visible badge
✅ Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts
DONE. Pentagon now has same rules as every…
He also reposted a cartoon portraying The Atlantic as a crying infant.
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 13, 2025
Reuters issued a statement Monday declaring that its journalists would not sign the Pentagon’s revised press pass policy, calling it an attack on “the press protections afforded by the US Constitution, the unrestricted flow of information, and journalism that serves the public interest without fear or favor.”
National Public Radio’s editor-in-chief, Thomas Evans, echoed that stance, saying, “We will not sign the administration’s restrictive policy that asks reporters to undermine their commitment to providing trustworthy, independent journalism to the American public.”
Furthermore, HuffPost editor-in-chief Whitney Snyder went further, describing the restrictions as “flatly unconstitutional". “HuffPost will not agree to a document clearly aimed at snuffing out actual news-gathering at the nation’s largest and best-funded federal department,” she said.
Conservative outlets also decline
Even some right-leaning media organizations have balked at the Pentagon’s demand. “Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter,” a spokesperson told The New York Times reporter Erik Wemple. “We are working in conjunction with other media outlets to resolve the situation. We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon will review the matter further.”
In response to the growing backlash, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell accused journalists of exaggerating the issue. Speaking to The Washington Post, Parnell said the media had “decided to move the goal post,” claiming the policy merely asks reporters to acknowledge its contents rather than explicitly agree to it.
“That request caused reporters to have a full-blown meltdown, crying victim online,” he said, adding, “We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and the national security of this country.”
Press corps warns of ‘intimidation’
The Pentagon Press Association (PPA), representing journalists who cover the Defense Department, issued a statement last week denouncing the policy as a veiled threat to press freedom. The PPA said the revised rules, which prohibit journalists from soliciting unauthorized information in addition to accessing it, appeared “designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution for simply doing our jobs.”
The group added that the directive “conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against any unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission, which plainly, it is not.”
One America News (OAN), a far-right cable network with close ties to the Trump administration, became the only known outlet to embrace the Pentagon’s new terms. Its White House correspondent frequently receives questions from the president, and one of its hosts, former congressman Matt Gaetz, said the pro-Trump channel “is happy to follow these reasonable conditions.”
