The Pentagon Press Gears Up for a Fight

Pentagon reporters are scrambling to come up with a response to an unprecedented policy restricting how they cover the military, as a deadline to sign a pledge not to report on unauthorized information looms.

The policy, issued by the Department of Defense in a seventeen-page memo on September 18, demands that journalists covering the Pentagon sign a document promising to report only on material “approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official, even if it is unclassified.” Failure to do so by September 30 would result in the loss of their “hard pass,” the coveted press credential that permits certain reporters regular, unescorted access to the building. Pentagon officials recently told reporters they could request an additional five days to “consult with legal counsel” before the policy would be enforced.

So far, it’s not known if any outlets have agreed to the demands, and news organizations like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR have issued statements criticizing the policy. Some publications have reached out to the Pentagon in an attempt to negotiate, the media newsletter Status reported last week. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which also sought to engage with defense officials, says the department has yet to meet with it. In a letter to the RCFP, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell argued that the policy “does not impose restrictions on journalistic activities” and is instead focused on “preventing active solicitation that encourages [military] personnel to violate” existing rules. “While the Pentagon’s response to the RCFP’s letter tries to sand down the worst rough edges of the [September 18] memo, the Pentagon still seems to want to leave wiggle room for the possibility that they will revoke a reporter’s credential on the basis of activity that’s protected by the First Amendment,” said Grayson Clary, a staff attorney for the RCFP. (The Pentagon did not respond to CJR’s request for comment.)