Pentagon Launches ‘Next Generation’ Press Corps Amid Backlash from Major
Media
The Defense Department
said that dozens of new reporters had agreed to sign the Pentagon’s rules on reporting,
which have been rejected by many major news organizations.
Overview
On October 22, 2025, the U.S. Defense Department announced that a “new generation”
of reporters would gain access to the Pentagon after agreeing to new press rules—a
policy that most traditional media outlets have rejected on First Amendment grounds.
The announcement was made on X (formerly Twitter) by
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, marking a significant shift
in the Pentagon’s relationship with the press.
New Access
Rules
·
Journalists are now required to sign a 21-page agreement
governing:
o
Conduct inside the building
o
Photography and parking rules
o
Restrictions on “soliciting government employees to
violate the law by providing confidential information.”
·
The policy, critics say, could criminalize standard
newsgathering and chill investigative reporting.
·
Major outlets—including The New York Times, AP, Reuters,
CNN, and major TV networks—refused to sign and surrendered their Pentagon press
credentials.
Who’s In
Parnell said
the new group includes over 60 journalists, of whom:
·
26 were existing Pentagon reporters
who accepted the new terms.
·
34+ are new entrants, largely
from right-wing or pro-Trump media outlets such as:
o
The Gateway
Pundit
o
Human Events
o
LindellTV (run by MyPillow CEO Mike
Lindell)
o
Turning Point
USA’s Frontlines
o
The National
Pulse
o
One America
News Network (OANN)
o
The Epoch
Times
Parnell hailed them as representatives of a “changing
media landscape,” praising their “direct connection to the American people.”
Reactions
·
Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman under the Biden
administration, called the announcement “highly
unusual”, noting that press secretaries rarely publicize membership lists.
·
LindellTV celebrated
the inclusion as “a major win for free speech and real journalism.”
·
Tim Pool, a conservative podcaster whose Timcast Media signed the agreement, downplayed
concerns: “We are not investigative reporters… but we respect those who are.”
First Amendment
Concerns
Media lawyers and legacy outlets argue that the new
policy’s language on soliciting tips could restrict legitimate reporting
on military affairs.
·
Critics warn it could penalize journalists for seeking
information about defense programs or internal decisions.
·
The Pentagon maintains that the rules simply codify
existing laws against leaking classified material.
Context &
Implications
·
The move follows months of tension between the Trump
administration and traditional press organizations, which accuse the White House
of curating access based on political alignment.
·
Analysts say the policy may create a two-tiered press
system, where favored media outlets gain insider access
while mainstream investigative reporters are excluded.
·
The shakeup could further polarize U.S. defense coverage, as independent and partisan media increasingly
fill the space once dominated by established outlets.
Bottom Line
The Pentagon’s creation of a “Next Generation” press
corps marks an unprecedented redefinition of media access to the U.S. military.
While the Defense Department
frames it as inclusion of new voices, critics see it as an attempt to reshape
the information ecosystem around the Pentagon—potentially at the expense
of press freedom and accountability.
The
Defense Department announced on Wednesday (22.10.2025) that a “new generation”
of journalists would be given access to the Pentagon after they signed rules on
access to the building that were rejected by most major news organizations.
The
announcement, posted on X by Sean Parnell, the chief Defense
Department spokesman, did not name the journalists or outlets. But numerous right-wing,
pro-Trump online outlets said they were among those that had agreed to the rules,
including The Gateway Pundit; Human Events; LindellTV;
Frontlines, an arm of Turning Point USA; and The National Pulse.
Last
week, the Pentagon began restricting access to the sprawling building, allowing
in only journalists who signed a 21-page document governing everything from soliciting
tips to parking to photography. Dozens of journalists from national outlets — including
the major TV news networks, wire services, and The New York Times and other newspapers
— declined to sign the policy, citing concerns that it curbed their First Amendment
rights, and handed in their press passes.
Reporters
from those outlets have continued aggressive coverage of the United States military,
including strikes on vessels off South America that the Trump administration accuses
of carrying drugs bound for the United States.
Mr.
Parnell, in his X post, celebrated the people who signed the rules, and said they
were part of a changing media landscape. The group, he said, represents “a broad
spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists.”
“New
media outlets and independent journalists have created the formula to circumvent
the lies of the mainstream media and get real news directly to the American people,”
he added. “Their reach and impact collectively are far more effective and balanced
than the self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon.”
The
announcement was unusual. Sabrina Singh, a Defense Department
spokeswoman during the Biden administration, said, “Press secretaries or spokespeople
do not typically announce new members of a press corps.”
Mr.
Parnell wrote in his post that the new press corps at the Pentagon consisted of
more than 60 journalists, 26 of whom were holdovers who had signed on to the latest
policy, including One America News Network and The Epoch Times. That means that
more than half of the members of the new press corps are freshly credentialed to
cover the building.
Among
the newcomers is LindellTV, an online streaming site operated
by Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and an
outspoken supporter of President Trump. Mr. Lindell helped to fund efforts to overturn
the results of the 2020 presidential election.
In
a statement on X, the LindellTV account wrote that the
company “was built to stand against the lies and censorship of the mainstream media
and now we’re taking that mission all the way to the Pentagon. We are officially
part of the new Pentagon press corps, this is a major win for free speech and real
journalism.”
Since
an early draft of the Pentagon restrictions circulated in September, legacy outlets
with Pentagon credentials expressed concerns that they would curtail reporting activities.
Of particular concern was a passage in the policy concerning solicitation of tips
about military matters. First Amendment protections, says the final draft of the
policy, do not allow journalists to “solicit government employees to violate the
law by providing confidential government information.” That provision, many media
lawyers argue, could punish routine reportorial inquiries.
Tim
Pool, a right-wing podcaster, wrote on X last week that he had just read the Pentagon
policy and did not understand what “the media is complaining about.”
After
Mr. Parnell’s announcement, Mr. Pool wrote on X that his own company, Timcast Media, which signed the policy, would not maintain a
“significant presence” at the Pentagon. Mr. Pool commands an audience of four million
between his YouTube and X accounts and received handsome payments to make videos
for a company clandestinely funded by Russian state media actors to promote division
in the United States, according to a federal indictment. (Mr. Pool said he was unaware
of the source of the funds and was not charged in the indictment.)
“Should
a major story unexpectedly come our way that conflicts with press policies,” Mr.
Pool wrote, “we will prioritize the public’s right to know and transparency. However,
as we are not investigative reporters, we do not anticipate frequently encountering
such situations and respect those dedicated to uncovering information of vital public
interest.”