Defense trade press statement on media restrictions at the Pentagon

For decades, the defense trade media has been a trusted source of news and insight about Defense Department programs, budgets, and strategy. Ethical, accurate, and timely reporting makes that possible. The public, industry, and indeed the department itself benefit from granting credentialed defense reporters access to unclassified areas in the Pentagon and from the trust engendered by that access.

The Pentagon has been seeking to impose unprecedented restrictions on journalists’ ability to cover the military for several months. Having restricted where unescorted media may go in the Pentagon—such that even visiting the public affairs offices of the military services now requires an escort—department leaders are asking reporters to sign a document acknowledging a vague new policy that, on i