Pentagon announces ‘next generation’ press corps including Trump media
The Pentagon said more than 60 reporters had signed on to its new restrictions, with major media outlets as well as conservative sources such as Newsmax and The Washington Times shunning the new policy.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, wrote in a post on X that they are “announcing the next generation of the Pentagon’s press corps.”
“We are excited to announce that more than 60 journalists, representing a broad range of new media and freelance journalists, have signed the Pentagon’s Media Access Policy and will join the Pentagon’s new journalism team,” he wrote. Parnell wrote that 26 reporters from 18 outlets signed on to the policy.
“New media and independent journalists have created a formula to circumvent the lies of the mainstream media and deliver real news directly to the American people. Their reach and influence collectively are far more effective and balanced than those of the media that chose to self-deport from the Pentagon. Americans have largely given up on digesting their news through the lens of activists masquerading as mainstream media journalists,” he wrote.
His post did not mention the outlets. But entities like One America News Network, The Federalist, and Lindell TV, which have been staunch supporters of Donald Trump’s agenda, said they were signing on to the policy.
Last week, reporters for major broadcast and news networks, including Fox News, as well as The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post, refused to sign on to the new Pentagon policy. They objected to provisions of the policy that sounded as if they were agreeing to receive only information approved by the Pentagon.
In a joint statement, the broadcast and cable networks said the new policy “would limit journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed on important national security issues. This policy is unprecedented and threatens basic protections for journalists.”
Many reporters turned in their badges and took out their belongings if they had workplaces in the Pentagon. But major networks and many other media outlets have pledged to continue covering the Pentagon from outside the complex itself, and to maintain their independence.
This means that when Parnell or Hegseth have a briefing, the crowd will not include familiar faces or those who have covered the Defense Department for decades.
Valerie Encina, who covers Congress and the defense industry at Breaking Defense, wrote on X about Parnell’s announcement, “It’s important to note that all defense trade publications have refused to sign on to the Pentagon’s media access policy, and we write about the military budget and technology — not exactly what you think of when you imagine ‘activists masquerading as journalists.'”