Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Major news outlets reject new Pentagon media policy citing press freedom threats.
- Attorney David Reymann warns the policy limits public oversight of urgent issues.
- Reymann urges Utah's officials to oppose the policy for transparency and accountability.
SALT LAKE CITY — Reporters from nearly every major news organization have surrendered their Pentagon press credentials after rejecting a new Department of Defense media policy that critics said threatens press freedom.
The policy states journalists can only gather and publish stories approved by officials, even if the material is unclassified. Anyone who doesn't follow those guidelines could lose their press credentials.
Outlets including Fox News, CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS announced they would not comply, calling the rules "a restriction on journalists' ability to keep the nation and world informed of important national security issues."
Video from the Pentagon shows reporters packing up and leaving after the policy deadline earlier this week.
First Amendment attorney David Reymann said the move represents a departure from past practices and could limit public oversight of urgent issues.
"We're not required to just take the word of the administration at its press briefings about how that business is being conducted," Reymann said. "The whole feature of our democracy is that people want to hear for themselves what the facts are, and they can make their own judgments. When you start saying, 'We just need to take the government's word for it,' you're talking about an autocracy that controls the channels of communication to the public."
Reymann warned that reporting from outside the Pentagon will make it harder for journalists to access decision-makers and timely information.
"It's going to be harder for the public to see what is happening in the Pentagon," he said. "I think the public and the press need to continue to push this administration to be transparent about what it is that they're doing. And this is a step backwards as far as that goes."
He urged Utah's elected officials to speak out against the policy, saying it could have far-reaching implications for transparency and accountability.
"I think every member of the public, including our elected representatives, need to hear from their constituents and need to say, if you've got nothing to hide, we're not talking about classified information, if you've got nothing to hide with information about how the Pentagon and the Department of Defense is doing its business, you should show that to the American people," Reymann said.
Reymann said this policy could have a chilling effect on journalism.
"The most disturbing part of the policy is this continued attempt to turn journalists into criminals by saying that by merely doing their jobs, a job that is constitutionally protected in gathering the news, journalists can be criminals," he said. "They can be prosecuted for receiving information that's leaked, for violating the Espionage Act, that could be considered national security threats."
