The Pentagon, once home to a bustling and diverse press corps representing the full spectrum of American media, has undergone a seismic shift. On October 23, 2025, a newly minted collection of journalists—many hailing from conservative and far-right outlets—officially took their places behind the security gates, marking a dramatic transformation in how the Department of Defense will be covered for the foreseeable future. The change is the result of a controversial new policy, spearheaded by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, that has left legacy media outlets on the outside looking in and ignited a fierce debate about the future of press freedom in the United States.
According to NPR, the shake-up began when Hegseth introduced a policy requiring all Pentagon journalists to sign a document agreeing only to report information explicitly authorized for release by the Trump administration. The policy did not merely target classified material; it extended to any information—classified or not—that the Pentagon had not given the green light for publication. For many veteran reporters, this was a bridge too far. As NPR’s David Folkenflik explained, “news outlets and reporters were asked to sign something that said, essentially, they were not entitled to broadcast, print or even ask for information that the Pentagon hasn't authorized for release.”
The response from the mainstream press was swift and nearly unanimous. Outlets from across the political spectrum, including The New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, Washington Post, Fox News, and NPR itself, collectively turned in their Pentagon badges rather than accept what they saw as an unprecedented restriction on journalistic independence. Even Fox News, a longtime favorite among conservative audiences, joined in the walkout, with the network calling the policy “without precedent” and warning that it “threatens core journalistic protections,” as reported by TheWrap.
In the wake of this exodus, the Pentagon quickly filled the void. On October 22, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the formation of the “next generation” press corps, comprised of more than 60 journalists from 18 outlets who agreed to the new terms. The roster is dominated by conservative and far-right organizations, including Gateway Pundit, National Pulse, Human Events, Turning Point USA’s Frontlines, LindellTV (run by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell), and podcaster Tim Pool. According to The Associated Press, even Alex Jones’ Infowars joined the new corps, with host Breanna Morello credentialed as an independent journalist based in Texas.
Parnell, himself a former Republican congressional candidate, defended the overhaul as a necessary step to ensure “a broad spectrum” of viewpoints, but his rhetoric was unambiguous in its criticism of the departing press. On social media, Parnell accused the “self-righteous media” of choosing to “self-deport from the Pentagon,” a phrase that many found loaded and dismissive. He elaborated, “Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media. We look forward to beginning a fresh relationship with members of the new Pentagon press corps.”
But not everyone is buying the Pentagon’s definition of a “broad spectrum.” As MSNBC reported, the new corps is populated almost exclusively by right-leaning, far-right, and even conspiratorial outlets. The Pentagon Press Association, representing many of the ousted journalists, issued a statement calling the developments “a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all.”
Veteran Pentagon reporter Barbara Starr, formerly of CNN, was especially blunt in her criticism. Appearing on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” Starr rejected the Pentagon’s assertion that it had assembled a genuinely new press corps. “That’s not how the world works in this country with a free press,” she said. “There are ... hundreds of journalists that continue to cover the Pentagon who did not sign up to the new restrictive rules, who are continuing to do their jobs every day.” Starr also took issue with the Pentagon’s use of the term “self-deport,” suggesting it likened principled refusal to criminal behavior. “It’s about protecting reporters, not political influencers,” she argued, warning that the real losers in this arrangement would be the American people and military families who depend on timely, independent information about the armed forces.
Some of the newly credentialed outlets have openly embraced their new roles. The Gateway Pundit’s White House correspondent, Jordan Conradson, posted that he was “excited to join the Pentagon press corps and help restore honest journalism after agreeing to follow basic rules ... something the legacy media refuses to do!” LindellTV, for its part, declared itself “proud to be part of a new generation of news organizations reshaping how real information reaches the public.” Yet, as NPR’s Folkenflik observed, many of these outlets have checkered histories. Gateway Pundit and LindellTV were both successfully sued for defamation over claims supporting President Trump’s false assertions about the 2020 election, while Tim Pool, another new member, reportedly accepted money from Russian state media, albeit unknowingly.
With legacy media now largely locked out, the question becomes: what does this mean for the public’s access to information? NPR’s Steve Inskeep put it plainly: “What we're going to hear from folks at the Pentagon is what Hegseth and his crew want you to know and little more. The press corps will trade the privilege of being in the Pentagon for that access to be able to beam out what the president's people want.”
Despite the Pentagon’s claims, the exiled journalists are not going quietly. Many continue to report aggressively on military affairs from outside the building. As Barbara Starr noted, “Reporters are continuing to report and they’re breaking scoops every single day from outside the Pentagon, and Mr. Hegseth may find that he is going to continue … finding breaking news stories that he has no idea are even coming at him.” Still, the loss of direct access presents real challenges, particularly for stories that require on-the-ground presence or rapid verification.
Notably, even some conservative voices have expressed reservations. Fox News and Newsmax, both popular among Trump supporters, refused to sign the new agreement and left the Pentagon press corps, highlighting that the controversy is less about ideology and more about the principle of editorial independence. As NPR’s Folkenflik summarized, “These so-called independent journalists touted by the Pentagon right now don't feel that independent at all.”
The Pentagon’s press shake-up is not just a story about who gets a seat in the briefing room. It’s a test of the boundaries between government power and a free press, with implications that stretch far beyond the walls of the Pentagon. For now, the battle lines are drawn, and the future of defense reporting—and perhaps American journalism itself—hangs in the balance.
