The Department of Defense has announced a major change to its media access policy, removing long-established mainstream outlets from dedicated workspaces at the Pentagon and opening the door for new voices. NBC News, The New York Times, NPR, and Politico have been instructed to vacate their offices, making way for news organizations that had previously been excluded.
The Pentagon’s new “annual media rotation program” aims to “broaden access” to reporting on military affairs. Replacing the legacy media outlets will be One America News, Breitbart News, the New York Post, and HuffPost. The inclusion of three conservative-leaning outlets has sparked outrage from mainstream media figures, with some calling it an attempt to silence opposition.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took office just one week before the decision, signaling a clear shift in how the Trump administration wants to handle media coverage of military operations. Critics claim the change favors Trump-friendly outlets, while supporters argue it ends years of media bias against his administration.