Should Pentagon media comply w/ Pete Kegstands new limitations? Are you surprised at the mostly unified media boycott? Who will blink 1st?

[DrPepper12]

My take: If you can get FOX & MSNBC to agree in solidarity, then you MUST be wrong Pete.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has imposed new restrictive conditions on media access to the Pentagon, requiring reporters to commit to not acquiring or using any unauthorized information, whether classified or unclassified. Journalists must sign an agreement to this effect or risk losing their press credentials and physical access to the Pentagon. This policy also restricts reporters' movements within the Pentagon, banning access to large areas without official escorts and relocating dedicated workspace for news organizations to undisclosed locations, making it harder for reporters to interact with military personnel. Hegseth's policy demands that any information reported must be preauthorized for release by Pentagon officials, effectively granting the Pentagon editorial control over what journalists can publish. This move has been widely criticized by the Pentagon Press Association and major news outlets—including ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, Fox News, The New York Times, and many others—who see it as a violation of First Amendment rights and an unprecedented attack on press freedom. Almost all media organizations have refused to sign the new rules, and many reporters have turned in their Pentagon press passes in protest.Hegseth defends the restrictions as common-sense measures to safeguard classified information and maintain order, but critics argue this escalates censorship and stifles transparency regarding military affairs. The policy also moves the Pentagon press corps toward an unprecedented absence of mainstream news coverage inside the Pentagon, breaking a tradition that had lasted since the Eisenhower era. Only one right-wing outlet, One America News, has agreed to the new conditions, while nearly all others stand in solidarity against them

The media should NOT 🚫 comply

The media should ✅ comply

They should comply to X but not Y. I'll explain

[Lliam]

No! '
Compliance would make journalists contractually beholden to the Pentagon and subject to legal consequences if they reported anything the Pentagon didn't like.

It would signal abandonment of press freedom and any remaining pretense of actual investigative journalism. Reporters would be mere stenographers, publishing the Pentagon's desired narrative.

We are already lacking in honest, unbiased, investigative journalism. I mean, media corporations and editors dictate what points of view can be published/broadcast. And Obama signed USAID in 2013, repealing the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, enabling state-funded media (government agencies) to broadcast programs aimed at influencing American public opinion. Mainstream media is basically state media while putting on a facade of independence. Now, Hegseth wants to legally enforce it by contractual agreement.
I say fuck him. Let him speak in a vacuum.

I want actual facts, not government propaganda.

[Lliam]

Thanks for the MHO, Doc.

[blackeagle007]

Media is allowed to criticize. Trump and his henchmen don’t like that.

[abc3643]

I voted that the media should comply.
I've worked in a defense think tank 33 years ago.
I understand the mindset and agree with where they are coming from.

I recognize that malfeasance in the military can occur as revealed in The Pentagon Papers during Vietnam, but there are still important aspects of defense that should never be released to the public because then it is de facto released to enemies.

For instance, what Edward Snowden did revealing potentially illegal activity may be important and a reasonably ethical person, but he still violated the law which is why he lives in exile and likely won't be pardoned - not by a Republican and likely not by a Democrat for a while if ever. I wouldn't pardon him.

[DrPepper12]

This is not that. This is complete editorial control by a incompetent sadistic violent arrogant creepy misogynistic security risk fox News dunk tank clown

[abc3643]

Do you have a URL to the text of the policy so that I can review it?

[exitseven]

Pete Hegseth is trying to keep classified information from getting leaked. There are a lot of things going on at thr Pentagon and he is being thorough. I do not blame him for not trusting the press

[DrPepper12]

Ummm... Recall the signal chat fiasco that should have put him in silver matching bracelets? He's the one trying to stop leaks? You will justify ANYTHING!!

[exitseven]

That fiasco is probably what made him extra vigilant.

[DrPepper12]

HE CAUSED IT!!!

[exitseven]

That was never proved. Hegseth is doing an outstanding job. Re recuitments are up , Iran cannot build a nuke, drug shipments are being stopped. It's a new ballgame

[DrPepper12]

HE ADMITTED IT!!!

[exitseven]

no he did not.

[DrPepper12]

Ffs pls consult reputable journalism

[exitseven]

The bottom line is the Hegseth does not need the media. If the media cannot report on news worthy activities, they might as well just make stuff up. Oh yeah, that's what they do anyway.

[DrPepper12]

Right. Trust hegseth. I'll let his ex wives, former employers & bartenders know

[exitseven]

His accomplishments speak for themselves..

[DrPepper12]

They certainly do

[Snakeyes7]

Yes they should. Screw the legacy media.

[DrPepper12]

Yes but why?

[DrPepper12]

Did you even see the list of who complied? It's an eye opener

[Snakeyes7]

I don't care. The mainstream media is filled with compulsive liars from top to bottom. I do not trust a single thing they say.

[DrPepper12]

So who do you recommend?

[Snakeyes7]

No one. We have a press secretary for that.

[DrPepper12]

And the press secy is a font of truth? The press merely stenographers?

[Snakeyes7]

The press secy knows or is supposed to know how to handle the media especially when they ask loaded question, as they often do.