Journalists turn in press badges following new Pentagon reporting requirements News
Ceescamel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Journalists turn in press badges following new Pentagon reporting requirements

Dozens of journalists on Wednesday turned in their press access badges instead of complying with the Pentagon’s new reporting rules.

Media members rejected US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent rule changes for the Department of Defense reporting, which require journalists to pledge to seek authorization before publishing any department information, including unclassified reports.

Hegseth announced the guidelines on social media, stating: “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon—the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules—or go home.”

The new rules also mandate that all reporters agree to be thrown out of the Pentagon for reporting on unapproved information. Various news outlets such as the New York Times, the Associated Press, and even conservative outlets like Fox News, have refused to let their journalists sign the new agreements. Currently, the only outlet to agree to the requirements is One America News Network.

One reporter from The Atlantic, who had worked at the Pentagon since 2007, lamented the new requirements, saying, “It’s sad, but I’m also really proud of the press corps that we stuck together.” Another reporter criticized the changed policy: 

With no reporters able to ask questions, it seems the Pentagon leadership will continue to rely on slick social media posts, carefully orchestrated short videos and interviews with partisan commentators and podcasters. No one should think that’s good enough. 

The New York Times posted the new rules, writing that, while the old rules fit on a single page, the new ones now take up 21 pages. While journalists aren’t technically prohibited from investigating, reporting or publishing stories on the US military using unclassified information, they could be deemed a “security or safety” risk and possibly have their credentials stripped.

Many have denounced the reporting rules as a violation of their First Amendment rights and warn that reporters will have severely diminished access to military personnel.

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