Fox News, CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS issued a joint statement Tuesday refusing to sign the Pentagon’s new press policy that demands reporters acknowledge a new policy that would penalize those who solicit information from military officials.
The networks joined a list of news outlets across the mediums of print, digital and television — and ran the gamut of perspectives — that have refused to agree to the new policy ahead of its 5 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, according to Status. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, Politico, the Hill, NewsNation, and Newsmax have all issued statements or indicated in recent days they would not sign the policy.
“Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues,” the five networks said in a statement. “The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.”
The Pentagon did not respond to an immediate request for comment, but its chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Monday that outlets were having “a full-blown meltdown” and “crying victim online.”
The statement marks Fox News’ first rebuke of its former employee, Pete Hegseth, who spent years as a network anchor before President Donald Trump picked him to lead the Department of Defense. Hegseth has repeatedly condemned the network’s Pentagon correspondent, Jennifer Griffin, since he took office, calling a report of hers in February “Fake News of the Day” and criticizing her during a June press conference.
“Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst — the one who misrepresents the most intentionally,” he told her after she pressed him on U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Hegseth has attempted to curb the steady stream of leaks that have emerged from the Defense Department, including the planned use of polygraph tests and nondisclosure agreements, according to Reuters, as well as the ouster of top aides last spring following a leak investigation. The aides have since condemned Hegseth.
It also marks CBS News’ first public statement on a government policy under newly minted editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, the opinion journalist who took hold of the newsroom last week.
The Pentagon has also worked to restrict press access, cutting office spaces inside the building for some outlets and limiting where journalists can roam within the building. It also tried to restrict reporters’ ability to report anything not officially authorized by the Pentagon, sparking a similar outcry from reporters.
It mirrored the Trump administration’s own animosity toward reporters and news outlets, even as President Trump suggested last month that the department’s restrictions could be ineffective in curbing journalists’ ability to break stories.
“Nothing stops reporters,” Trump told a press gaggle.
The Pentagon Press Association rebuked the new policy on Monday, saying its reporters were “likely to hand over their badges rather than acknowledge a policy that gags Pentagon employees and threatens retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been pre-approved for release.”
“There is simply no need for this battle,” it added. “The Pentagon has no reason for the new acknowledgment other than to chill both reporters and their sources — something many of our members cannot abide.”
