Press Agencies Refuse To Sign New Pentagon Policy En Masse

A new policy put forth by the Pentagon requiring advance clearance of any releases from press outlets to only release official information concerning their affairs is meeting resistance, as the majority are refusing to let their correspondents sign. These outlets include the New York Times, NPR, the Washington Post, as well as right-leaning outlet NewsMax. 

On Monday (Oct. 13), Newsmax issued a statement. “Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter,” the statement began. “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.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has responded to the Atlantic, the Post and the Times‘ refusal in posts on social media, using a hand-waving emoji to signify bidding them goodbye. He went a step further over the weekend, posting a cartoon showing the Atlantic as a crying baby, according to the Guardian. The deadline to sign is 5 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 14). Hegseth has been in heated clashes with the press in the past, notably over press reports that questioned the effect of airstrikes on Iran in February.

National Press Club President Mike Balsamo decried the new policy. “If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see. That should alarm every American,” he said.

The new Pentagon policy was issued last month, asking that all information “be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.” Though not spelled out, it is assumed that not following the guidelines would mean that reporters would not have access to the complex. Journalism groups worked with the Pentagon to lessen the severity of the language, but it hasn’t swayed the other outlets save for one – One America News Network, who employs former disgraced congressman Matt Gaetz as an analyst.

The Pentagon Press Association protested the new policy, claiming it violates reporters’ First Amendment rights and conveys “an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission — which plainly, it’s not.”

Press Agencies Refuse To Sign New Pentagon Policy En Masse  was originally published on hiphopwired.com