US media reject Pentagon's new reporting rules as threat to press freedom

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 15 October 2025 |  JP Global Monitoring

Major US media outlets are protesting new Pentagon guidelines they claim unlawfully restrict their coverage of the military. Despite revisions, the rules are seen as an infringement on press rights.

Summary

NEW YORK — Major US news organisations are rejecting new Pentagon guidelines that they say unlawfully restrict journalists’ ability to cover the military. Outlets including NPR, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, Reuters, and Associated Press have refused to sign the revised rules, arguing they violate the First Amendment’s press protections, Al Jazeera reported.

Originally introduced in September, the rules required reporters to sign an affidavit promising not to publish unauthorised materials, including unclassified documents, to maintain Pentagon press credentials. After backlash, the Department of Defense changed the language to require only an “acknowledgment” of the policy, but media groups remain opposed.

The Pentagon Press Association said while the department can set access rules, it cannot impose “unconstitutional policies” as a condition for reporting. Conservative outlets, including The Washington Times and Newsmax, also joined the protest. The policy, backed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been condemned as an attempt to “stifle a free press.”