The Pentagon, long considered one of Washington’s most scrutinized and storied institutions, now finds itself at the heart of a fierce battle over press freedom. On the eve of a critical deadline—Tuesday, October 14, 2025—major media outlets, press associations, and journalists are rejecting a new Pentagon policy that they say threatens the very foundation of independent reporting on America’s military.
Just last month, the Department of Defense unveiled a sweeping new press policy requiring that any information—classified or not—must be approved for public release by an authorized official before it can be shared. The catch? Reporters who refuse to sign the agreement risk losing their credentials and, with it, their access to the Pentagon complex. According to Deadline, the policy’s reach extends to even the most routine acts of journalism, such as seeking tips or posting calls for information on social media.
The backlash has been swift and broad. By October 13, 2025, a wave of prominent organizations—including The Atlantic, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, The Hill, NewsNation, and Newsmax—announced they would not sign the new paperwork. The sentiment was echoed by Axios, which reported that The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press, and The Washington Times also refused to comply.
In a statement to Deadline, Newsmax declared, “Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter. We are working in conjunction with other media outlets to resolve the situation. We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon will review the matter further.” Similar objections came from NPR’s editor-in-chief Thomas Evans, who insisted, “We will not sign the Administration’s restrictive policy that asks reporters to undermine their commitment of providing trustworthy, independent journalism to the American public.”
For many in the press, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The Pentagon Press Association, which represents the beat reporters who cover the Defense Department day in and day out, issued a stark warning on October 6, 2025. The group said the new policy “leaves open the threat of the Department of Defense revoking credentials for reporters who exercise their First Amendment rights by seeking information that hasn’t been pre-approved for formal release, even when the information is entirely unclassified.” The association further stated that the rules “convey an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission—which plainly, it’s not.”
Richard Stevenson, Washington bureau chief for The New York Times, was blunt in his criticism. “The policy threatens to punish journalists for ordinary news gathering protected by the First Amendment. Since the policy was first announced, we have expressed concerns that it constrains how journalists can report on the U.S. military, which is funded by $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars annually.”
The Pentagon, for its part, has shown little willingness to budge. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, responded to the mounting refusals on social media with a hand waving “bye-bye” emoji, writing, “Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right. So, here is @DeptofWar press credentialing FOR DUMMIES: Press no longer roams free. Press must wear visible badge. Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts. DONE. Pentagon now has same rules as every U.S. military installation.”
But veterans of the Pentagon press corps dispute Hegseth’s characterization. They point out that reporters have always worn visible badges and never had access to classified spaces without proper clearance. The real concern, as voiced by Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, and Shaun Tandon, president of the State Department Correspondents’ Association, is about the public’s right to know. In a joint statement, they said, “Access inside the Pentagon has never been about convenience to reporters. The public has a right to know how the government is conducting the people’s business. Unfettered reporting on the U.S. military and its civilian leadership provides a service to those in uniform, veterans, their families and all Americans.”
The Pentagon’s move comes as part of a broader trend toward restricting information. Earlier in 2025, the Defense Department replaced the press offices of several mainstream organizations with mostly conservative outlets, according to Axios. NPR, NBC News, Politico, and CNN were among those told to vacate their workspaces at the Pentagon’s Correspondents’ Corridor, although their credentials remained intact. These changes, coupled with the new policy, have led many to accuse the Pentagon of systematically limiting independent coverage and scrutiny.
Interestingly, opposition to the policy has united media outlets across the political spectrum. Newsmax, a staunchly conservative outlet, stands alongside more liberal peers in rejecting the rules. Axios noted that this is not the first time conservative outlets have joined broader media coalitions to defend press freedoms; in February, Newsmax and Fox News signed a letter urging the White House to rescind a ban against AP reporters.
Still, not every outlet is resisting. One America News Network, a conservative cable network, announced it had signed the policy after legal review. “After thorough review of the revised press policy by our attorney, OAN staff has signed the document,” said Charles Herring, the network’s president. As of the deadline, OAN appeared to be the lone major outlet to comply.
Behind the scenes, some news organizations are reportedly weighing legal action. But for now, most are preparing to hand over their Pentagon badges rather than “acknowledge a policy that gags Pentagon employees and threatens retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been preapproved for release,” as the Pentagon Press Association put it.
Despite the looming loss of physical access, newsroom leaders are adamant that coverage of the U.S. military will continue. Editors and reporters have publicly pledged to pursue stories about the Pentagon and its leadership, with or without official credentials. As NPR’s Thomas Evans put it, “We urge the Pentagon and the Administration to uphold freedom of the press and the American people’s right to know what is done in their name.”
As the deadline passes and the dust settles, the contours of this battle remain sharply drawn. On one side, a government seeking to tighten its grip on information; on the other, a press corps determined to defend its independence and the public’s right to know. The outcome will shape not just the future of Pentagon coverage, but the broader relationship between government and the free press in the United States.
