Journalists at the Pentagon turned in access badges and cleaned out their workspaces, the price for refusing to agree to new restrictions on their jobs at the seat of U.S. military power.

Dozens of reporters turned in access badges and exited the Pentagon on Wednesday rather than agree to government-imposed restrictions on their work, pushing journalists who cover the American military further from the seat of its power. The nation’s leadership called the new rules “common sense” to help regulate a “very disruptive” press.

News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information — classified or otherwise — that had not been approved by Hegseth for release.

Many of the reporters waited to leave together at a 4 p.m. deadline set by the Defense Department to get out of the building. As the hour approached, boxes of documents lined a Pentagon corridor and reporters carried chairs, a copying machine, books and old photos to the parking lot from suddenly abandoned workspaces. Shortly after 4, about 40 to 50 journalists left together after handing in badges.

  • webdox@lemmy.world
    681·
    9 hours ago

    To further drive their points how, the ones remaining should further pontificate this. Every time Trump attacks one of the press during pressers they should all immediately turn their cameras off and pack up their equipment. This would be a glorious rebuttal to his attack on the Press and our Free Speech. They will not, however, because nearly all of them now are complicit actors working for media outlets owned by billionaire Trump donors.

    • BassTurd@lemmy.world
      16·
      6 hours ago

      They could all also stop sucking his dick and start reporting on reality. Call a spade a spade, or a dictator a dictator. If trump loses the media, he loses a lot of his power to control the narrative. I don’t believe that most of these news outlets have a spine and are willing to work together to tell the truth, but I can dream… Sometimes.