Dozens of journalists at the Pentagon turned in their badges on Oct. 15 after refusing to agree to new rules and restrictions placed on them by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the Associated Press. Major news outlets such as The New York Times, Fox News, CBS and ABC told their reporters to walk out citing the restrictions placed on their staff.
Under the new rules, journalists would not be allowed to solicit information from military officials, and all information, regardless of classification status, would need to be approved by Hegseth before being published. Those who break these rules could “face potential criminal liability,” according to the official rules. Hegseth called the rules “common sense” and said that by signing the agreement, journalists acknowledged the rules, not accepted them.
Editor-in-Chief and founder of the Kansas Reflector Sherman Smith said that the rules worry him because many news outlets are going to have to work harder to report factual and timely stories. Outside of the Pentagon walls, journalists will have to rely on emails, phone calls and public appearances to source information, quotes and photos for their stories.
About 40 to 50 journalists exited the Pentagon at 4p.m., the deadline to sign the agreement, carrying boxes filled with documents, photos, books and mementos of their time there. According to CNN, anonymous sources inside the Pentagon expressed their regret about the walk out and growing disconnect between the American public and their government as journalism is under attack; however, journalists said they would not stop reporting.
Senior reporter for the Kansas Reflector Tim Carpenter said he is confident that journalists will still be able to cover the Pentagon without being inside. Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years and has seen the effects of politicians stiffarming journalists in the state capitol building. He said in many cases it only inconveniences reporters, not stops them, and said he believes the attitude at the Pentagon will be similar.
“The tone of reporters covering the Defense Department will actually be perhaps more aggressive, and so this whole policy is bound to blow up in their face and not accomplish their goals of controlling what Americans read. It’s not going to work,” Carpenter said.
The Independent reported that there are only 15 journalists who signed the agreement. Four from conservative outlets like One America News, The Federalist and The Epoch Times, 11 freelance reporters for foreign outlets and a few independent news sites that publish their work solely on social media. Associate Professor at the KU William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication Genelle Belmas said she worries about the lack of balanced reporting.
Belmas said that if the information flowing from the Pentagon is only representative of one view point, then misinformation can run rampant. She believes those most vulnerable to misinformation are citizens who aren’t trained or encouraged to think critically.
“We want to accept what people in authority tell us uncritically. We want to believe in the goodness of people, and I don’t want us to lose that, but I also don’t want us not to think about what we’re swallowing,” Belmas said.
