Media outlets, including MAGA channel Newsmax, refuse to sign Pentagon’s press access rules
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/media/pentagon-hegseth-press-restrictions-newsmax-atlantic
By Brian Stelter 4 hr ago
The Pentagon is telling beat reporters to sign restrictive new rules by Tuesday or surrender their press passes by Wednesday. Many news organizations are rejecting the ultimatum and saying they will not sign.
The Pentagon Press Association, a body that represents the beat reporters, says the new policy championed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “gags Pentagon employees and threatens retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been pre-approved for release.”
In a statement on Monday, the association said that “potential expulsion from the Pentagon should be a concern to all.”
In short, many reporters and their employers feel they can’t stomach the new restrictions, so many news outlets stand to lose physical access to the Pentagon complex — something that has been a standard part of Washington-area news coverage for decades.
Editors and reporters say they’ll continue to cover the US military thoroughly, with or without press credentials. Some well-known members of the Pentagon press corps have used the credentialing controversy to encourage tipsters to get in touch with them.
Representatives for CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and NPR have all said that journalists from their newsrooms are not signing the new paperwork about Pentagon access.
What about MAGA outlets?
Some partisan media outlets have also raised objections: Newsmax, the pro-Trump cable channel and website, said Monday that its reporters have no plans to sign either. .........................................................
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