After others departed, Pentagon announces 'new' press corps filled with conservative news outlets

The Pentagon's announcement came less than a week after dozens of reporters from outlets like The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN and the Washington Post turned in their access badges rather than agree to a policy the journalists say will restrict them to covering news approved by Hegseth.

Hegseth's spokesman, Sean Parnell, announced the “next generation” of the Pentagon press corps with more than 60 journalists who had agreed to the new policy. He said 26 journalists who had previously been part of the press corps were among the signees. The department wouldn't say who any of them were, but several outlets reposted his message on X saying they had signed on.

There isn't even unanimity among organizations that appeal to conservative consumers. Fox News Channel, by far the most popular news source for fans of President Donald Trump, was among the walkouts, as was Newsmax.

Accusations of ‘self-righteous media’

In a post on X, Parnell denounced the “self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon."

“Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media,” Parnell wrote. “We look forward to beginning a fresh relationship with members of the new Pentagon press corps.”

The journalists who left the Pentagon haven't stopped working covering the U.S. military. Many have been reporting aggressively, for example, on stories about strikes against boats in central America alleged to be part of the drug trade.

By not being in the Pentagon, “reporters will have to work harder, there's no question about it,” said Barbara Starr, a longtime Pentagon reporter retired from CNN.

“But the real price is paid by the American people and the American military families,” Starr said. “Military families who have their sons and daughters serving, they want to know everything and they want to know it fast.”

Starr wondered about Hegseth: “What is he so afraid of?” New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote a biting piece about the defense secretary over the weekend titled “Fraidy-Cat at the Pentagon.” But Hegseth's boss, President Trump, has expressed support for the new media policy and Hegseth's aggressive moves mirror some of those made by the administration. The president has sued outlets like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal for their coverage of him.

New outlets must add staff

Some of the outlets that accepted Hegseth's rules will have to staff up for their new roles: Just the News, for example, posted an ad online seeking a Pentagon reporter.

The Gateway Pundit's White House correspondent, Jordan Conradson, posted on Wednesday that he was excited to join the Pentagon press corps “and help restore honest journalism after agreeing to follow basic rules ... something the legacy media refuses to do!”

Lindell, whose My Pillow ads once blanketed Fox News before he joined the political media, posted a statement that LindellTV was “proud to be part of a new generation of news organizations reshaping how real information reaches the public.”

Some of the publications pronounce themselves conservative in their mission statements. The “about” page on the National Pulse features a picture of Trump.

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social