Pentagon tightens control over what reporters can publish
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The Pentagon is tightening rules on media access to its halls, underscored by a pointed message from Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth.
“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home,” Hegseth said Friday on the US social media company, X, posting a screenshot of an exclusive story on the Pentagon’s updated media guidelines.
It follows the agency’s new guidelines, formalised in a memo Thursday, obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire.
It said spokesman Sean Parnell outlined “updated physical control measures for press/media access within the Pentagon,” requiring credentialed reporters to sign documents acknowledging the protocols.
Media outlets’ criticism
Previously, reporters could move relatively freely throughout much of the Pentagon, observing officials and attending meetings in areas that are now restricted.
Under the new policy, escorts are required for sensitive areas, while the media retains access to the defence media office, the spokesman’s office and other general spaces.
Parnell stressed the operational security rationale. “Up until now, the press could wander all around the Pentagon with no oversight, even outside of sensitive/classified areas. So moving forward, they’ll need an escort to access those areas … These are pragmatic changes to protect operational security & ultimately bring the Pentagon in line with other government buildings,” he said