In Focus

As a reporter, I am outraged about the Pentagon’s new policy on press access. This policy, requiring journalists to pledge not to report any information without prior authorization, even if unclassified, or risk losing their press credentials and access to the Department of Defense, is not just bureaucratic red tape—it is a direct assault on the free press and the public’s right to know.

Reporters do not exist to flatter government officials or only repeat the version of events they want told, at any level of government. We are here to ask difficult questions, shine light on uncomfortable truths, and hold leaders accountable.

History offers countless reminders of why independent journalism matters: the Pentagon Papers exposed how the government misled the public about Vietnam. The government tried to block publication, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the press, reinforcing that a free press must be able to hold leaders accountable; Watergate reporting uncovered criminal abuse of power at the highest levels; Abu Ghraib prison scandal in 2004. Journalists revealed photos and reports of U.S. military personnel abusing prisoners in Iraq. The coverage exposed serious human rights violations, sparked global outrage, and forced the government to investigate and hold people accountable.

None of these stories would have come to light under rules that demand prior approval from the very institutions being investigated.

The Department of Defense (or I guess Department of War now) is the largest arm of our government, having immense power on policy making, spending, and the lives of service members. Restricting journalists from freely reporting on its activities strips away the checks and balances that protect democracy. Saying this policy encourages “transparency” while punishing independent reporting is just a contradiction.

The press does not “run” the Pentagon, as Secretary Hegseth stated. But without the press, the Pentagon could run unchecked—shielded from scrutiny, immune from criticism, and free to operate in secrecy. That is not democracy. That is propaganda.

As reporters, our job is not to obey—it is to inform. The American public deserves the truth about how wars are fought, how tax dollars are spent, and how decisions are made that affect millions of lives.

If this new policy stands, the greatest casualty may not be found on a battlefield, but in the silencing of the very voices charged with telling the truth.