US Defense Department bars journalists from its press office

The U.S. Department of Defense has restricted media access by barring journalists from its press office, a move decried by media freedom advocates as an alarming escalation in efforts to curtail independent reporting on the military.

Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez stated that the office was re-designated as a "Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility" because speechwriters who routinely handle classified government information require secure network access. Consequently, journalists are no longer permitted to enter the space, though access to the offices of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and the Press Secretary remains available by appointment only.

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These speechwriters routinely handle classified material and require SIPRNet access. As a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. Access to the office of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and to the Press Secretary remains available by appointment only.

This latest restriction follows a pattern of actions by the administration aimed at limiting media scrutiny of the military. In March, the Defense Department announced it would no longer allow media outlets to maintain offices at the Pentagon. Previously, a judge had sided with The New York Times in a lawsuit challenging new rules for obtaining press credentials. The Pentagon also implemented a policy requiring journalists to have an official escort within the complex, a rule The New York Times is contesting in a separate lawsuit.

Organizations like the National Press Club and the Freedom of the Press Foundation have condemned the Pentagon's actions. The National Press Club called the move a "troubling escalation" and emphasized that "independent reporting on the U.S. military is not optional." They argue that restricting journalists' access leaves the American public with less information, transparency, and oversight, which should concern anyone valuing a free and informed society.

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Independent reporting on the US military is not optional. When journalists are pushed farther from the institutions they cover, the American people are left with less information, less transparency, and less oversight. Any effort to restrict that access should alarm everyone who values a free and informed society.