The media is having all sorts of tantrums over the new and very reasonable media requirements from the Pentagon. How dare the Department of War tell them What are those requirements?
In September, the Defense Department sent reporters a memo saying that they’d be required to sign a document acknowledging they would not disclose either classified or controlled unclassified information that is not formally authorized for publication. It warned Pentagon reporters they could lose their press credentials for “unauthorized access, attempted unauthorized access, or unauthorized disclosure” of classified information or anything designated as “controlled unclassified information.”
The memo also said, “DoW information must be approved before public release … even if it is unclassified.”
Gosh. That sounds like major common sense to me. Secretary Pete Hegseth clarified it even further.
Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right. So, here is @DeptofWar press credentialing FOR DUMMIES:
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 13, 2025
✅ Press no longer roams free
✅ Press must wear visible badge
✅ Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts
DONE. Pentagon now has same rules as every…
And the media has been throwing tantrums ever since. Even media who should know better.
The fact is, I agree with these requirements. They are blunt. Classified intel is no longer allowed to be leaked. Period. Full Stop.
Do NOT report classified intel. Why? It can jeopardize missions and more importantly the lives of our soldiers and agents.
Don’t even tap dance around whether the intel is classified or not. Why? See answer above.
Furthermore, as you read the ACTUAL press requirements, nowhere in it is any indication that the media will be TOLD what to write or not write. I’ll caveat that with.. if it’s classified… DO NOT WRITE.
Here’s why they are throwing tantrums. The new press requirements state that the media doesn’t possess a legal right to access any area of the Pentagon with zero pushback. And that’s correct. They also put in writing that encouraging Pentagon employees, civilian or members of the military, to leak intel is now absolutely forbidden.
Oh, don’t start on me about the Freedom of the Press. Freedom of the Press means that you get to REPORT news items. It does not mean you get to demand and be granted access to wherever you want. The media and far too many politicians have forgotten or are willfully ignoring that salient point.
As is pointed out, in World War II there was a slogan. A very important slogan.
To be blunt, people were shitcanned from their jobs or even thrown in prison during that time period for breaking those rules.
But now, in the last twenty years at least, Pentagon weenies and the media have cultivated relationships that have led to media breaking stories chock full of those “unnamed sources” about Pentagon dealings. Too many of those reports, especially during President Trump’s first term, were designed as hit jobs.
Furthermore, the media then (most of them anyway) completely abdicated their job during the Biden Administration and engaged in ZERO reporting on key matters …such as Sec Def Austin going freaking AWOL twice in ten months!
But now, common sense rules are being put in place.
War Secretary Hegseth reaffirmed strict new Pentagon security rules, emphasizing that access will be tightly controlled.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 5, 2025
> “The Pentagon press corps can squeal all they want! We're taking these things seriously. We're not allowing everybody to roam around the building. No badge,… pic.twitter.com/3LY0xs9I0T
Roam around the Pentagon at will WITHOUT a badge? That should never have been allowed. May I remind you again… loose lips sink ships!
The media, however, is bleating about journalism and the First Amendment. Lara REALLY doesn’t get it.
The Pentagon is not a media theme park.
— Life is a Liberty Matter (@LibertyMatter77) October 16, 2025
I can't wander around there. My neighbor can't wander around there.
But you all feel so entitled that you think you should be able to wander around one of the nation's most sensitive military facilities freely.
Furthermore, the Pentagon has indicated they won’t require oversight on what to publish. But they are, rightly so, standing firm on ensuring that classified intel is not leaked from Pentagon staffers with axes to grind to the media.
The point in that example is that even DOW employees have to obey such restrictions, like employees of corporations.
— Will Campbell (@wacthe3) October 14, 2025
Why should the press have special privilege to not be held accountable when they release information without the DOW’s consent, while DOW employees are?
The Pentagon has been a leaking sieve for far too long. It’s in the best interests of our national security that protocols are tightened.
‘Going to lose public trust.’ Try again. Public trust has been eroded by our government for far too long. The Covid pandemic crap made it even worse.
How the Biden Administration handled the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan contributed further to that mistrust in our government institutions AND the media. Refusing to report on Biden’s cognitive decline and failure to report on Austin’s AWOL antics adds to the dislike and mistrust.
But the media persists in demanding unfettered, unchecked access. Thus their tantrums and the walkout because they won’t have access to their favorite anonymous sources and classified intel any longer.
Again, the guidelines are fair and straightforward.
“Nothing in this document requires you to waive any constitutional rights. This in-brief constitutes a description of [Department of War] policies.”
“Members of the news media are not required to submit their writings to [the Department of War] for approval.”
“This in-brief and its Appendices address [Department of War] policy and the potential bases for such a determination and do not prohibit you as a [credential holder] from engaging in constitutionally protected journalistic activities, such as investigating, reporting, or publishing stories.”
With this tantrum over their inability to access intel at will, classified or otherwise, ALL the media except OAN stepped on the biggest rake alive.
Again for all those journalists in the cheap seats. You DO have Freedom of the Press. You do NOT get to demand unfettered access and jeopardize the lives of our soldiers in your request to report what you deem as news. Furthermore, Freedom of the Press does not include any requirement from anyone that they HAVE to provide you with information.
The fact that the new requirements have the legacy media in a tizzy tells you everything you need to know about how they’ve operated for the last twenty years or so.
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Feature Photo Credit: classified top secret by Mokee81 via iStock, cropped and modified
SFC D says: I’m a retired Army SFC, a federal employee with a TS/SCI clearance. I wouldn’t be allowed to wander the hallways of the pentagon or any military installation. There’s no damn reason press credentials should allow that. Cry harder, it brings me joy.
Cameron says: Cry harder, it brings me joy.
Do you need a bucket for the tears? I have a spare you can borrow.
SFC D says: I’m just gonna sure the wave!
SFC D says: SURF, dammit!
[…] THE WHAT? Media To Pentagon: We Demand Right To Leak Classified Intel! […]
Tom R. says: The one gap in this article is that DoD/W is concerned not just with classified information spillage but also Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) leaks. The principles behind controlling both issues are roughly comparable, but the punishments are not. In fact, the press gets little retribution for publishing CUI. Rather, the punishment is for the source of that leak. Which is why Hegseth and the Department is changing its particular Pentagon access policies for the press.
Nowhere else in DoD were people who weren’t even cleared contractors allowed into controlled facilities. If leakers want to meet reporters in Arlington bars, that is where they need to go.
John C. says: I am minded of the first Gulf War, when the U.S. military gave a press conference that described how the attack into Kuwait would take place. The Press dutifully and enthusiastically reported each detail, and Iraq positioned its forces accordingly. Then the attack was mounted from a different direction, bypassing the Iraqi positions. The Press was FURIOUS, at how they had been USED…
I worked for most of my life as a contractor for the then Department of Defense (now once again the Department of War). I couldn’t enter a military base or facility without my authorized picture badge. It had to be displayed prominently on my person at all times while at the facility. I also had to wait 6 months while the DoD cleared my work biography A Geek’s Progress for publication, making sure I didn’t divulge any classified information.
The only scandal or newsworthy item here is that reporters have apparently been allowed to roam the halls of the Pentagon freely for years without regards to access rules. THAT IS THE SCANDAL! Now, in typical leftist fashion, they’re all voluntarily leaving for being forced to follow the rules, and acting like it’s a big protest. As my father-in-law used to say, “If they’re running you out of town, act like it’s a parade.”
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