Reporters for multiple news outlets covering the Pentagon are preparing to turn in their press passes Wednesday, instead of agreeing to a new set of policies the association representing them says “on their face, appear to violate the First Amendment.”
The five major broadcast networks released a joint statement Tuesday, saying, “Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues.”
“The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press,” the networks said.
CBS News is among an array of media organizations — including Newsmax, The New York Times, The Washington Post, NewsNation, The Hill and Fox News, which previously employed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as an on-air host — that say they will not sign the new Pentagon restrictions.
The Defense Department sent reporters a memo in September mandating they sign an agreement acknowledging they would need formal authorization to publish either classified or controlled unclassified information. The department said in the memo that “information must be approved before public release … even if it is unclassified.”
Journalists covering the Pentagon were instructed to sign the agreement by 5 p.m. Tuesday. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin said, “Walking the halls of the Pentagon was my M.O. for 40 years. I don’t know how else to cover a story except by being there.”
“Seeing and talking to the people you are reporting on is about as fundamental as it gets. During COVID, I tried not coming into the Pentagon but gave up after a couple days of feeling out of touch,” Martin said. “Did I find out stuff in the hallways that the people who ran the Pentagon didn’t want me to know? Of course I did. That’s what I was there for. That’s what’s being shut down.”
The Pentagon Press Association decried the new policy in a statement on Monday.
“When Secretary Hegseth came into office, Pentagon officials pledged to make this ‘the most transparent Department of Defense in history.’ Since then, we have seen an inordinate amount of time spent systematically limiting access to information about the U.S. military — information vital to members of the military, their families, all American taxpayers, and the general public,” the association said.
Hegseth posted a goodbye emoji on X in response to announcements by the Atlantic, the New York Times and the Washington Post that their reporters would not agree to the new policies.
At least one outlet has agreed to the new restrictions, the One America News Network, the company’s president confirmed in an email to CBS News.
“After thorough review of the REVISED press policy by our attorney, OAN staff has signed the document,” said Charles Herring.
News organizations including CBS News are currently assigned workspaces and credentials that allow journalists limited access in the Pentagon. The new plan also involves moving news organizations to alternative workspaces.
CBS News reporter and producer Eleanor Watson, who covers the Pentagon, said that plan would hamper news outlets’ ability to quickly get important information to the public.
“One of the reasons we’re in the hallway clearly marked the ‘correspondents corridor’ is to be near the public affairs office and press briefing room to communicate information about the world quickly,” Watson said. “Evicting us will slow that down, but it won’t stop our sourcing and reporting.”
The new policy would mean that journalists would not be able to use unnamed U.S. military sources in much of their reporting, without risking loss of access to the Pentagon.
“Our members did nothing to create this disturbing situation,” the Pentagon Press Association said. “It arises from an entirely one-sided move by Pentagon officials apparently intent upon cutting the American public off from information they do not control and pre-approve — information concerning such issues as sexual assault in the military, conflicts of interest, corruption, or waste and fraud in billion-dollar programs.”
Journalists who work there also point out that they do not have unhindered access to the Pentagon even now, with many parts of the vast complex off limits.
Watson said CBS News will continue to report on the Pentagon even if it loses access to the building.
“There is value in us being here for our reporting and for the public interest. We will continue to report and shed light on the Defense Department even after our camera here goes dark,” Watson said.
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