“Without precedent”: News outlets reject Pentagon’s new press rules

Leading news organizations are rejecting new rules for the press laid out by the Pentagon saying they would muzzle reporters and undermine decades of coverage of the U S military Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth s office has given Pentagon beat reporters until Tuesday to sign a pledge agreeing not to obtain or use unauthorized material in their reporting The rules threaten to this instant strip any reporter determined in violation of their press credentials The ultimatum has drawn a rare unified backlash from nearly every outlet in the nation s capital Related Anti-war veterans are saying no to Pete Hegseth s destructive vision CNN ABC CBS NBC and Fox News issued a joint message Tuesday rejecting the Pentagon s requirements calling them without precedent and warning they threaten core journalistic protections Before joining the Trump administration Hegseth worked as a host for Fox News We will continue to cover the U S military as each of our organizations has done for a multitude of decades upholding the principles of a free and independent press they declared Reuters the Associated Press The New York Times The Washington Post The Atlantic and NPR also refused to sign the pledge Several Trump administration-friendly outlets also balked at the restrictions Conservative arrangement Newsmax commented they would refuse describing the rules as unnecessary and onerous The only outlet known to have accepted the terms is One America News Start your day with essential news from Salon Sign up for our free morning newsletter Crash Program The Pentagon Press Association disclosed the new rules gag Pentagon employees and threaten retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been pre-approved for release The group warned that anticipated expulsion from the building should be a concern to all and argued that the restrictions appear to violate the First Amendment in a report shared by CNN This kind of Orwellian censorship is a blatant violation of the First Amendment the progressive nonprofit group Community Citizen wrote on X Pete Hegseth does not get to decide what is communicated to the inhabitants You would think a former news host would know that The new restrictions come after the Pentagon was embarrassed by a leak of war plans in Yemen The Atlantic s editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a group chat between top Trump administration representatives discussing an attack He then published a story on the massive lapse in assurance before sharing details of the conversation Hegseth has publicly mocked the outcry from journalists claiming on social media that the new guidelines solely mean the press can no longer solicit criminal acts He reposted several outlets statements on their refusal to comply adding a waving goodbye emoji Read more about this topic Pete Hegseth wants women in the kitchen but his wife as his top adviser Trump and Hegseth s warrior tradition invades Chicago Banning Enola Gay Pete Hegseth s DEI paranoia knows no limits The post Without precedent News outlets reject Pentagon s new press rules appeared first on Salon com