In an unprecedented show of force, all the major television networks and other media outlets staged a walkout after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth insisted they sign a document forcing them to post no stories, even if unclassified, without explicit approval from Pentagon officials.
When they refused to sign, he confiscated their press passes and barred them from entering the building.
What a blatant violation of First Amendment rights and a disgusting attempt to hide the inner workings of the $1 trillion Pentagon budget, which pays for 3.4 million civilian and military workers around the world. What do they have to hide? Apparently, plenty.
The networks — CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, Newsmax, and even Fox News — where Pete Hegseth ironically worked as a weekend co-host — decried the move by joining others in a statement of solidarity against the ban. Bret Baier, who covered the Pentagon for six and a half years, condemned it, saying, “And we knew not to, you don’t walk into the tank, and the classified areas are off limits. We obviously were always trying to get the story from different elements.”
Jack Keane, a retired four-star Army general and Fox News analyst, also joined in the criticism. “What they’re really doing, they want to spoon-feed information to the journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism.”
The Press Freedom Association, which represents 56 outlets, called it “a dark day for news media.” Many media outlets added to the memo with their own statements. The New York Times said it “threatens to punish them for ordinary news gathering protected by the First Amendment.”
Only 15 reporters remain in the building, including the right-wing TV network OAN.
Early on, even President Trump said that Pete Hegseth had gone too far. Later, he made a U-turn and backed the secretary. “I think he finds the press to be very disruptive in terms of world peace,” Trump said. “The press is very dishonest.” Hegseth said his new rules were “common sense.”
Not true.
His rules defy logic and make it impossible for journalists to do basic reporting. Some military leaders are intimidated by the draconian edict and aren’t talking to reporters off the record. Not being able to have informal chats with top civilian and military leaders doesn’t allow members of the media to practice their profession or provide the public with comprehensive information about complex military procedures.
One reporter told Reuters, “You learn half of what’s going on by walking the halls. Without that, you’re just reading statements.”
No matter what your profession, talking to someone in person is always a good idea to build relationships and trust. And in this case, it goes both ways. Pentagon leaders can get an idea of what reporters are working on. And reporting “live from the Pentagon” is a visual that, rather than sitting in a generic studio, shows a sense of urgency to the audience that they are on the scene of breaking news.
But reporters are working harder than ever, breaking stories from outside the building, in a move that Hegseth may come to regret. It’s like a double or triple dare to journalists who act like dogs with bones when it comes to uncovering lies and misinformation by people in power.
Even though back-channel information is harder to come by, one recent CNN headline cited “sources” when it came to the U.S. bombing what was described as a drug-smuggling boat off Venezuela. Some news organizations are following suit on other stories.
One of the most prescient reporter reactions included taking a selfie as she was leaving the building. She showed a picture mounted on the wall behind her of a journalist covering a war. For now, that’s the end of an era.
Her colleagues didn’t miss the opportunity to pose for a group shot on the steps, carrying boxes cleared out from their studios.
Barbara Starr, who spent decades with CNN covering the Pentagon, lamented the loss of journalists covering wars. “The Pentagon press corps has traveled to every combat zone in the world. To be regarded as anything less than professional in their jobs is a sad business,” she told Fox News.
Margaret Brennan, host of CBS’s Face the Nation, reported that Pete Hegseth “once promised the most transparent administration ever. But as one former defense official told us, the American people are going to know a lot less about what their Department of War is doing.”
ABC’s This Week host Jonathan Karl pressed House Speaker Mike Johnson this weekend about the new Pentagon 21-page document. “Do you have a sense for why the Secretary of Defense seems to be afraid to interact with journalists who cover him?” Johnson fired back, saying that “fear is not part of the Secretary of War’s makeup.”
The new press restrictions will have serious short- and long-term consequences on journalists’ ability to do their jobs, not to mention the information the public will receive to make decisions about their tax dollars at work. Pentagon reporters have acted as the public’s eyes and ears, and without that, reporters may miss mistakes or abuses.
And that’s exactly what the administration wants. Editors at major networks are right in saying the ban can “normalize secrecy at the Defense Department.” The public will learn less about budgets, wars, and policies. That’s a negative for everyone.
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