Posted on 10/14/2025 4:41:08 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Media across the ideological spectrum said they will not sign the Defense Department’s restrictive new press policy by Tuesday’s afternoon deadline. The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Associated Press and CNN said they wouldn’t sign, as did Newsmax and the Washington Times.
Matt Murray, The Post’s executive editor, said the policy runs counter to the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of the press.
“The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information,” he said in a statement Monday. “We will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of the Pentagon and officials across the government.”
The policy says reporters cannot obtain or solicit any information the Defense Department does not explicitly authorize. Any media representative who does not sign by 5 p.m. Tuesday has 24 hours to turn in their media credentials and clear out of the Pentagon facilities.
After pushback from reporters, news organizations and press freedom advocacy groups, the Pentagon expanded the prohibitions in the document, earning condemnation last week from the Pentagon Press Association, which represents the Pentagon press corps.
The policy “constrains how journalists can report on the U.S. military, which is funded by nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars annually,” said the New York Times’s Washington bureau chief, Richard Stevenson. “The public has a right to know how the government and military are operating.”......
In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said media outlets have “decided to move the goal post.” The policy doesn’t require reporters to agree, Parnell said, but just acknowledge they understand the policy, and he criticized reporters for speaking out against it.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Sounds like no one will be in the Pentagon’s press room which is maybe what the Pentagon wants.
It’s an interesting development, this policy.
If it’s true that news outlets that do not sign won’t be permitted to enter the Pentagon, that’s going to throw a wrench into the works for major media outlets that refuse to sign.
Aw gee boys and girls...no more leaks?
It all depends who is in power.
If Dems were, Republicans would be upset.
I suggest this comes down to DOD not being confident that they can engage with the press.
You should start a new news organization, sign, and then be the only one in the room.
You’d be famous!
“Sounds like no one will be in the Pentagon’s press room”
Excellent!
Now small conservative media outfits/personalities can take over and post on X/YouTube.
That’s the War Department to you WP. We don’t have a defense department anymore. We are back to fighting to win wars so we don’t have to fight wars
There's a reason why even Newsmax is refusing to agree with this new policy in writing.
I must have missed that in the Constitution where it says they are guaranteed access into the Pentagon. Maybe they should be invited to the after sction briefings.
If your teenage daughter who is dating will not agree to healthy restrictions to protect her, you restrict access until she follows the rules.
Same with access to the Pentagon.
These are the same folks that totally support the UK in jailing Tommy Robinson for reporting on grooming gangs.
I guess it is because it is early in the morning, but something strikes me as funny about using the term “outlet” with the news.
Outlets remind me of stores, and in the the present day condition of “news outlets” most of us ain’t buying what they are selling.
The policy is I believe to be a return towards the Department of War that existed in the days of WW II.
Loose lips sink ships was the by word. Presently loose lips are an American press birthright.
I’m not even sure why the Pentagon would HAVE a “press room.” Most of what they do is undoubtedly highly classified.
WAPO is willfully ignorant. That’s why the Department of War needs the policy.
I don’t understand media resistance to these rules. Aren’t these the same media organizations that routinely favor 2A licensing and restrictions? I’d expect any person/group that favored restricting one enumerated constitutional right would be totally cool with restricting a different enumerated constitutional right.
1. The press can’t wander around the Pentagon wherever they please.
2. They must wear a badge at all times.
3. Credentialed press are no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts.
Number 3 seems to be the sticking point. The media is saying that no news may be released from the Pentagon without government approval. The administration is saying anything we don’t allow you to release is a matter of national security.
Thing is, no one has the right to roam around the Pentagon and tell the world anything they learn.
I guarantee this is going to court. If judges can tell the President what he can and can do with the military you know they’re going to demand the NYT, the Post and the AP be allowed in.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.