Prominent news outlets reject Pentagon rules before signing deadline

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

October 13, 2025 at 2:58 p.m. EDT


Journalists working at The Washington Post, the New York Times and other major news publications will not sign the Defense Department's restrictive new press policy by Tuesday's afternoon deadline. The Atlantic, CNN and the Guardian, along with the trade publication Breaking Defense, have also said they will not sign the new agreement.

Matt Murray, The Post's executive editor, said the policy runs counter to the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of the press. "The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information," he wrote in a statement Monday. "We will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of the Pentagon and officials across the government."

The policy says reporters cannot obtain or solicit any information the Defense Department does not explicitly authorize. Any media representatives who do not sign by Tuesday at 5 p.m. will have 24 hours to turn in their press credentials and clear out of the Pentagon facilities. After pushback from reporters, news organizations and press freedom advocacy groups, the Pentagon expanded the prohibitions in the document, earning condemnation last week from the Pentagon Press Association, which represents the Pentagon press corps.

The policy "constrains how journalists can report on the U.S. military, which is funded by nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars annually," said the New York Times' Washington bureau chief, Richard Stevenson. "The public has a right to know how the government and military are operating." The Atlantic's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who was added to a Signal group chat including Hegseth earlier this year, said the demands on journalists violate their First Amendment rights. As a result, the magazine's staffers won't sign.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/10/13/prominent-media-reject-new-pentagon-rules-before-signing-deadline/

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REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143533219
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143533949
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143534298
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143538449
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143544059

[JustAnotherGen]

1. They'll cave

WaPo, CNN and the NY Times.

The Guardian and the Atlantic? I think they'll stand strong. But not WaPo. No Way.

[Eugene]

5. The Washington Post has joined the group and says it won't sign on.

Even Newsmax is objecting to the new rules.

New York Times, AP, Newsmax among news outlets who say they won't sign new Pentagon rules (Associated Press)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/york-times-ap-newsmax-among-222017659.html

[Gimpyknee]

2. Is the sky falling?

[Torchlight]

6. Nope

[BaronChocula]

3. Maybe they're learning

that talking on the record to anyone in this republican regime is just asking for nothing but a pile of lies anyway. Access is useless.

Either that or JAG is right in the comment above, and the weaker ones will cave.

[FakeNoose]

4. They have the power of the Constitution when they stick together