The mainstream media has discovered a brand-new constitutional crisis: the Pentagon wants them to wear press credentials and have escorts in high security areas. Shocking, Right? Major outlets—including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, NPR, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Axios, Politico, and Newsmax—refused to sign the Pentagon’s new acknowledgment form requiring press badges and escorts in certain areas. Only One America News agreed. Their claim is that security protocols somehow silence them. Apparently, “please wear a badge and don’t wander into the Joint Chiefs’ offices” is the First Amendment apocalypse.
Their big gripe is that signing the form supposedly forces them into a partnership with the government—an ironic complaint considering many of these same outlets have enjoyed casual, almost cozy access for years. Not to mention how their reporting favored the agenda of their political beliefs. They say the language is vague, overly broad, and chilling to journalism. They argue that simply acknowledging escort rules means handing control of “what can be reported” to the Pentagon. In their minds, the government holding the keys to the hallway is the same as holding the keys to their copy desk. Suddenly, they’re brave defenders of press independence.
But the memo is about as dramatic as a visitor pass at a courthouse. It requires escorts in sensitive zones, visible “PRESS” IDs, and warns that violating those rules can get credentials pulled. Pentagon officials stress the policy doesn’t give them editorial authority—it just tightens access to where the nation’s defense secrets live. “Access is a privilege, not a right,” the memorandum says. Translation: you can ask your questions, report how you want, but you must adhere to security policies rather than go unescorted through secure spaces with no identification badge. Wearing a press ID and having access within your level of security clearance is commonplace among government buildings.
And yet, here we are. The transition is textbook: “Follow our common sense security requirements or lose access” becomes “Trump is silencing the press.” The outrage writes itself. Badge rules are cast as censorship. Escort policies are inflated into tyranny. A straightforward security memo morphs into a Broadway production of “The Death of Free Speech.” What’s really at stake isn’t press freedom—it’s who controls the narrative. They refuse to sign, then point to the refusal as proof of oppression. Proverbs 18:2 says, “A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.” This is not the government interfering with the exercise of free speech. It’s the mainstream media exercising, say it with me…Stupidocrisy.
Sources
“Pentagon Access Is a Privilege, Not a Right” — Breitbart News — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/10/14/pentagon-access-is-privilege-not-right-hegseth-draws-line-as-media-refuse-sign/
“Department of War Implements New Guidelines for Media Access at the Pentagon” — Daily Wire — https://www.dailywire.com/news/department-of-war-implements-new-guidelines-for-media-access-at-the-pentagon
“New Pentagon Policy Sends ‘Message of Intimidation,’ Press Group Says” — Axios — https://www.axios.com/2025/10/09/pentagon-press-restrictions-trump-journalists-ppa
“US News Outlets Reject Pentagon Press Access Policy” — Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-news-outlets-reject-pentagon-press-access-policy-2025-10-14/
“Pentagon Press Access Policy Sparks Outcry” — Associated Press — https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-press-access-defense-department-rules-95878bce05096912887701eaa6d019c6
