DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: And the Pentagon said, “If you don’t report OUR news OUR way then you aren’t invited to the party”

After all, who cares about a little First Amendment when you do not want to follow it.

I’m a bit concerned that as of several weeks ago every news outlet except for a few willing to break journalistic code left the Pentagon instead of allowing their First Amendment rights to be stomped on by the government.

I know, I’ve been complaining about the fake news media since I began writing this column during the COVID debacle.

However, uprooting an entire press league both red and blue is not how to give Americans the warm fuzzies about its five fundamental freedoms: freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government.

What really surprises me is the fact that for years most of the major news outlets on both sides of the aisle have been owned by the higher gods known as Blackrock and Vanguard anyway.

Now what?

Well, maybe someone should go down the rabbit hole and see if these aforementioned companies are entrenched in defense contracts.

Spoiler alert: they are (www.investordaily.com.au/news/57369-blackrock-doubles-down-on-defence-as-geopolitical-tensions-reshape-investment-landscape) heavily involved through their investment holdings.

Either way, it appears the journalists in question found their backbone after the Secretary of the Department of Defense, (calling it DOD on purpose) Pete Hegseth gave them a 17-page ultimatum to sign if they wanted to stay.

While I did not disagree with every “pledge” outlined in the document, I do disagree with the fact any “real” journalist be asked to sign a document (and agrees to do so) stating they will not release a news story that has not been authorized for public release by the Pentagon.

That takes the term “fake news” to an entirely different level, and the word dictatorship also comes to mind.

As a journalist, I’ve had people I interviewed from different areas demand to read my article before being published.

After I was over the shock of the audacity, I laughed at the request.

That’s one faux pas a journalist does not take lightly.

The 17-page document from Hegseth included a requirement for prior approval for even unclassified information and the potential revocation of credentials for non-compliance.

The most troubling part of this equation (there are a few) is the fact that in the future it will be difficult to report on issues the government has not explicitly approved for release. In other words, the public will not know what “we the people’s” defense department is up to anymore.

The public is already in the dark when it comes to the Defense Department’s billions of black budget dollars.

The Hill reported the “Pentagon touts ‘next generation’ press corps of mostly right-wing outlets” (thehill.com/policy/defense/5568023-pentagon-new-press-corps)

Even as a more right-wing journalist myself, I’m concerned by what is unfolding here.

There are now 60 journalists who have signed the Pentagon’s media access policy to join 26 journalists from 18 outlets who agreed to the new rules.

The news rules being basically, to only report what they are told therefore becoming glorified press release interns parroting the Pentagon’s narrative.

I would say even if you’re a red person, remember things can go awry for you too.

Both sides of the aisle benefit from red and blue press-related news.

Unless your head is terribly buried in the sand, you should want to hear what both factions are echoing so you can figure out the truth.

The list of those who agreed to report only the Pentagon narrative included right-wing websites such as Human Events, the Canadian website the Post Millennial; the National Pulse; The Gateway Pundit; LindellTV, started by MyPillow CEO and President Trump ally Mike Lindell; Just the News; right-wing podcast host Tim Pool’s Timcast; Turning Point USA’s media brand Frontlines; a Substack-based newsletter called the Washington Reporter; One America News Network; the Federalist, and the Epoch Times, as well as a handful of foreign outlets, freelancers and independent journalists.

Those media outlets that exited the building were The Associated Press, Reuters, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News Media and NBC News – all stating jointly that this move hinders a journalists’ ability to “keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues” while threatening independent newsgathering violating the First Amendment.

I also do not need to tell you this should raise concerns concerning DOD oversight.

This department currently has not only an annual budget that is almost a trillion dollars, but it also raises concern over democratic accountability.

All this, while Hegseth has insisted this is the “most transparent administration ever.”

Can someone define transparency for me these days?

The BBC made a comment (www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0ygg06pgko) and quoted a Pentagon Press Association spokesperson stating, “The policy conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against any unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission – which plainly, it is not”

To date, the only time I can think it’s considered “criminal” to report the news would be in countries like North Korea, China and Russia.

This is still the United States after all and Trump, who promised his red people “America First” would never allow such a thing, right?

Speaking to reporters during a White House meeting, he did say he believed in the Pentagon’s restrictive access rules.

“The press is very dishonest,” Trump said.

Has anyone mentioned to him the politicians and likely White House staff have a knack for being very dishonest too?

He added he was concerned high-ranking generals can make a mistake when talking to the press, even though as many as 100 reporters have covered the Pentagon for decades with identification badges and unrestricted access to non-classified areas of the building.

Here’s a good article to read to consider this latest mess at the Pentagon (theconversation.com/new-pentagon-policy-is-an-unprecedented-attempt-to-undermine-press-freedom-266129?fbclid=IwY2xjawNnODpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFrSzgwVGpkeVFoTHNpUnFBAR7IP6UHOl2z5Ug-4wp6Asag2ma9ehI7zc9vzBJqR0D5NEyr7rEGTB12DoOzkw_aem_zTcaS2ZkxE9FwrdfF3VdDg) with consideration for the fact, “Throughout modern American history, reporters who cover the Pentagon have played an invaluable role shining a light on military actions when the government has not been forthright with the public.”

One example cited was reporters covering the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021 that killed 10 civilians, not ISIS militants, as the government reported.

The Pentagon Press Association stated the revised policy is “asking us to affirm in writing our ‘understanding’ of policies that appear designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution for simply doing our jobs.”

Once-imprisoned journalist Peter Greste said of the dictatorial move “Attacks on journalism are a national security issue, and we have to protect press freedom.

Anything that undermines press freedom undermines national security.”

Back in the Nixon era even his own nominee Chief Justice Warren Burger acknowledged the press plays a role of watchdog against the government’s abuse of power.

These days, never fear there will be other ways for the media to discover what is happening inside the Pentagon.

There are too many people on both sides of the aisle getting annoyed and a bit nervous about the government’s ongoing boot on the neck regarding America’s freedom.

After all, when you allow one right to be taken away it makes it easier the next time around.

I want to remind every person who approves of this level of restrictive journalism that no matter the side of the aisle your day will come.

Flips always flop and what you love today because it suppresses the side you abhor can easily be the side suppressing you in the future.

Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.