More than 60 journalists, “representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists,” have signed the Pentagon’s restrictive media access policy and will join 26 journalists from 18 outlets who already had building access and agreed to the new rules, according to chief spokesperson Sean Parnell.
The announcement comes after the mass exodus of legacy outlets from the building who refused to sign the new media rules, under which journalists could be deemed a vague “security or safety risk” should they ask DOD personnel for information deemed sensitive or unclassified that’s not authorized for disclosure.
In a statement to X, Parnell used the announcement to denigrate the outlets that refused to sign to keep their access badges as “self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon.”
He claimed the new batch of media outlets — the majority of which appear conservative or far-right — “have created the formula to circumvent the lies of the mainstream media and get real news directly to the American people.”
The Pentagon declined to release a list of the new media outlets to The Hill, but posts to social media on Wednesday indicate that the additional journalists work across far-right websites such as Human Events; its sister company, Canadian website the Post Millennial; the National Pulse; The Gateway Pundit; and LindellTV, started by MyPillow CEO and President Trump ally Mike Lindell.
They will join the likes of One America News Network (OAN), the Federalist, and Epoch Times, a handful of foreign outlets, and freelancers and independent journalists who already had a press badge, though only OAN regularly reports from the building.
Every major television network, wire, publication and radio outlet reporter — including for the conservative Fox News, Newsmax, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner and the Daily Caller — refused to sign the Pentagon policy.
The Pentagon Press Association issued a blistering condemnation of the policy, accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and defense leadership of trying to “stifle a free press” by sending “an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD.”
The rules also follow a steady stream of directives out of Hegseth’s office that have sought to severely kneecap press access and accommodations in the Pentagon since the start of the year, even while insisting this is the “most transparent administration ever.”
Read the full report at thehill.com.
