ABC News Issues Joint Statement with CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News Against Pentagon's New Restrictions
The agreement would limit access to the Pentagon for those who don't comply.
Some of the biggest news organizations in the United States are fighting back against proposed restrictions placed by the Pentagon today, as the Disney-owned ABC News joined other members of the media in both decrying and refusing to agree to the new rules.
What’s happening:
- The Pentagon, which serves as the headquarters for the United States Department of Defense (or as President Trump would prefer to have us call it, the Department of War) has demanded that journalists sign an agreement to new rules that would restrict access if news outlets use unauthorized materials.
- The deadline for signing the agreement was today, but instead a number of news organizations have issued a joint statement against these restrictions.
- ABC News, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, joined its fellow outlets CBS News, NBC News, CNN, and Fox News in calling out the new rules as a threat to “core journalistic protections." Other outlets that have refused to sign include Reuters, The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and NPR.
What they’re saying:
- Joint statement from the above-listed news outlets: “Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues. The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press."
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