I previously criticized the new Pentagon policies for media organizations. While the Trump Administration made some changes, the rules remained unduly restrictive and unprecedented. As a result, virtually every news organization, including Fox News, refused to sign the agreements at the deadline — a decision that I strongly support.
The changes will effectively bar most media from the Pentagon, undermining the department’s ability to work with reporters to ensure accurate reporting on military operations.
The Pentagon Press Association objected last week that a revised policy still seeks to prohibit journalists from soliciting unauthorized information in addition to accessing it. It said that the rules appeared to be “designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution for simply doing our jobs.”
The PPA added that the revised policy “conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against any unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission – which plainly, it is not”.
The relationship with the press can be strained at times, and tensions with the Trump Administration are notoriously high. However, this is a “beat” that requires close and ongoing communications to keep the media (and the public) fully informed of military policies and programs.
The organizations refusing to sign include outlets that are viewed as supportive of the Trump Administration with large conservative audiences.
Many of us have joined the Trump Administration in criticizing the bias of most media outlets. Indeed, the public reflects the same criticism in polling with the media at record lows of public trust. However, this move is gratuitous and self-defeating.
Despite the anger at the media and the need for serious reforms in many outlets, we need to protect the free press, which plays a critical role in our constitutional system.
Thus far, only One America News Network has agreed to the new regulations.
As I stated earlier, I am dubious about possible legal challenges over access to the Pentagon. Other agencies such as the CIA do not allow general access to the media. The Administration, in my view, has the advantage in any challenges over such rules.