""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," the networks wrote. "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.""
"Last month, the Department of Defense issued a new policy restricting the movement and actions of reporters assigned to cover the Pentagon to an immediate uproar from news outlets of all mediums and leanings. While the agency later issued a revised memo after extensive negotiations with media organizations, dozens of outlets went on to publicly reject the restrictions, refusing to sign off on the changes and potentially putting their coveted hard passes at risk."
The Department of Defense issued a new policy restricting the movement and actions of reporters assigned to cover the Pentagon, prompting widespread pushback from media outlets. After negotiations the agency issued a revised memo, but dozens of outlets publicly refused to sign the changes and risked losing hard passes. Major networks including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC jointly declined to agree to the requirements, calling them unprecedented and threatening to core journalistic protections. The policy would allow the Defense secretary significant discretion to revoke unclassified inquiries' press passes and require escorts in some Pentagon areas. Outlets that decline to comply faced surrendering credentials and losing access. The policy follows earlier evictions of long-standing outlets from Pentagon office space.
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