Defense Department Orders ‘Unique’ Move Against Media Establishment Entrenched In Halls Of Pentagon

(Daily Caller) The Pentagon announced Friday it will rotate legacy media outlets’ physical presence in its press corps, in line with President Donald Trump’s plan to challenge tradition and bring in new media, CNN reported.

CNN’s Pentagon producer, Haley Britzky, shared an internal memo by acting Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot to the Pentagon Press Association announcing the “annual media rotation program.” The program will see One America News Network replace NBC News, Breitbart replace National Public Radio (NPR), the New York Post replace The New York Times and HuffPost replace Politico in the coveted “Correspondents’ Corridor” effective Feb. 14, 2025. (RELATED: NPR Editor Who Exposed Newsroom’s Left-Wing Bias Resigns)

The year-by-year rotation program will “broaden access to the limited space of the Correspondents’ Corridor to outlets that have not previously enjoyed the privilege and journalistic value of working from physical office space in the Pentagon,” Ullyot wrote.

Ullyot also noted that while the outlets were only to give up their office spaces in the Pentagon, they “will remain as full members of the Pentagon Press Corps,” enjoying the same access to the Pentagon and its briefings and retaining the privilege of being considered for travel with the Pentagon’s leaders.

The move reportedly drew criticism and left the outgoing outlets reeling as they wondered whether their coverage of recently confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth influenced the Pentagon’s decision.

“We’re disappointed by the decision to deny us access to a broadcasting booth at the Pentagon that we’ve used for many decades,” NBC News said in a statement. “Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has.”

“The National Press Club is deeply concerned by the Defense Department’s decision to remove certain media organizations from their dedicated spaces in the Pentagon. Any action that restricts the ability of journalists to report on the operations of the U.S. government should alarm all who value transparency and press freedom,” National Press Club President Mike Balsamo said in a Friday statement.

The National Press Club supported the Pentagon Press Association’s call on the Pentagon for clarification, Balsamo added.

“Holy shit. The erasure of journalism at the Pentagon. Replaced with fake news partisans like Breitbart, OANN, and NY Post. And HuffPo (they still exist?) for fake balance. Trump/MAGA’s fascist takeover of media coverage of the regime continues,” Kevin Baron, a former vice president of the Pentagon Press Association, railed.

 

HuffPost, on the other hand, welcomed the news, according to CNN. “If The Trump Administration and Secretary Hegseth are interested in more hard-hitting coverage of their stewardship of the Defense Department from HuffPost, we are ready to deliver,” a HuffPost spokesperson said Friday night.

The Department of Defense also issued guidance on Friday from Secretary Hegseth, “Identity Months Dead at DoD,” preserving official resources to fulfill “mission execution” rather than celebrating observances of specific affinity groups. “We will focus on the character of [warriors’] service instead of their immutable characteristics,” the memo states.