The New York Times on Friday sued the Department of War over new rules for media outlets which restrict reporters’ movements around the Pentagon, require ID badges, and restrict the solicitation of “criminal acts” (encouraging someone to leak).
“The policy, in violation of the First Amendment, seeks to restrict journalists’ ability to do what journalists have always done—ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that take the public beyond official pronouncements,” the NYT wrote in its lawsuit which was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
The new rules state that soliciting nonpublic information from department personnel or encouraging employees to break the law “falls outside the scope of protected newsgathering activities.”
Journalists will also be denied press passes if they pose a safety or security risk.
The Times and several other outlets took issue with a request from the Department of War to sign papers acknowledging that they had received, read and understood the rules – and that while they may not agree with the policies, signing the paper did not waive any legal rights.
After some outlets declined to sign the acknowledgement, the Pentagon required them to hand over their press passes, resulting in some reporters ceasing to report from the DoW.
Meanwhile, several in the media were later granted passes who had not had them before, including National Pulse EIC Raheem Kassam.
“Legacy media chose to self-deport from this building,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson during a Wednesday press briefing, adding ‘we’re welcoming new media outlets that actually reach Americans, ask real questions, and don’t pursue a biased agenda.“
According to the NY Times complaint, “These developments place the purpose and effect of the Policy in stark relief: to fundamentally restrict coverage of the Pentagon by independent journalists and news organizations, either by limiting what kind of information they can obtain and publish without incurring punishment, or by driving them out of the Pentagon with an unconstitutional Policy.
“While Plaintiffs’ enterprising reporting on the military will continue, the Pentagon’s Policy ensures the suppression of certain newsworthy information—information, for instance, gathered by directly questioning officials at press conferences or through routine unplanned interactions between journalists and Pentagon personnel on Pentagon grounds,” the outlet continued.
Pentagon chief spox Sean Parnell told the Epoch Times; “We are aware of the New York Times lawsuit and look forward to addressing these arguments in court.”
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