Pentagon Announces Media Rotation, Replacing Legacy Outlets with New Organizations

[Social Media]

 

In a move that signals a shift in media access at the Department of Defense, the Pentagon announced late Friday night that it will implement an annual rotation system for news organizations occupying dedicated office spaces. The decision will see long-established media outlets such as NBC News, The New York Times, NPR, and Politico vacate their offices to make way for new organizations, including the New York Post, Breitbart News, One America News, and HuffPost.  

 

The policy, called the “Annual Media Rotation Program,” is designed to give outlets that have not previously had the opportunity to work from the Pentagon's dedicated office spaces a chance to do so. The change will take effect on February 14, according to a memo sent to Pentagon reporters and signed by senior communications official Jonathan Ullyot. However, no criteria were provided for how the outlets were selected, and the Pentagon stated in an email that “no additional information will be provided at this time.” Officials declined to comment further on Saturday.  

 

Despite the office space changes, the memo clarified that the outlets losing their desks will remain members of the press corps with continued access to briefings, travel opportunities, and coverage areas. “The only change,” it stated, “will be giving up their physical workspaces in the building to allow new outlets to have their turn to become resident members of the Pentagon Press Corps.” All credentialed reporters will still be able to work from the Pentagon, though without dedicated desks.  

 

The move marks a significant shift in media access, as previous administrations, including the Trump administration, did not implement such a rotation. During Trump’s presidency, the Department of Defense managed media access differently, choosing which reporters attended trips rather than maintaining a fixed roster. However, such practices were not considered unusual at the time.  

 

More than two dozen news organizations currently operate from the Pentagon to cover military affairs, including major agencies such as the Associated Press and Reuters, as well as niche publications like Stars and Stripes. The designated media workspace, known as the Correspondents’ Corridor, consists of shared offices, desks, and cubicles used by accredited Pentagon press corps members.  

 

The impact of the change is expected to be particularly significant for NBC News, as the Pentagon has dedicated live broadcast spaces for major networks such as CNN, Fox News, ABC, and NBC. Meanwhile, HuffPost’s inclusion in the new rotation surprised some Pentagon reporters, though the outlet has previously applied for and been granted press credentials. HuffPost clarified that it had not sought to displace other media organizations but welcomed the opportunity to provide in-depth coverage of the Department of Defense.  

 

“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,” said Lizzie Grams, a spokesperson for HuffPost.  

 

The decision raises questions about how future rotations will be handled and whether other long-established news outlets will be affected in subsequent years. As the policy takes effect, many in the press corps will be watching closely to see how it influences coverage of the Pentagon and access to key military officials.

 

Based on a report by WP 2025-02-04

 

 

[jippytum]

I think the new press Secretary is wonderful. Miss levitt is like a breath of fresh air with her putdowns at press briefings. 

Good to see the Anti Trump media anchors like CNN and their ilk get a tounge lashing from this whitehouse star. 

[Yellowtail]

Good news that. We need more honest reporting. 

[Chomper Higgot]

Excluding the news agencies that subject the Government to critical analysis and replacing them with the rightwing client media.

 

So much for promises of open government.

[novacova]

5 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Excluding the news agencies that subject the Government to critical analysis and replacing them with the rightwing client media.

 

So much for promises of open government.

This is code for “It really annoys me that other points of view are being permitted opposed to my one sided fascist slant”

[JonnyF]

8 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Excluding the news agencies that subject the Government to critical analysis and replacing them with the rightwing client media.

 

So much for promises of open government.

 

Did you actually read the article?

 

10 hours ago, Social Media said:

Despite the office space changes, the memo clarified that the outlets losing their desks will remain members of the press corps with continued access to briefings, travel opportunities, and coverage areas. “The only change,” it stated, “will be giving up their physical workspaces in the building to allow new outlets to have their turn to become resident members of the Pentagon Press Corps.” All credentialed reporters will still be able to work from the Pentagon, though without dedicated desks.  

 

[frank83628]

23 minutes ago, jippytum said:

I think the new press Secretary is wonderful. Miss levitt is like a breath of fresh air with her putdowns at press briefings. 

Good to see the Anti Trump media anchors like CNN and their ilk get a tounge lashing from this whitehouse star. 

Great to see Jim Acosta going down the drain too

[JonnyF]

24 minutes ago, jippytum said:

I think the new press Secretary is wonderful. Miss levitt is like a breath of fresh air with her putdowns at press briefings. 

 

Indeed.

 

What an upgrade from the last one. 

[Chomper Higgot]

28 minutes ago, novacova said:

This is code for “It really annoys me that other points of view are being permitted opposed to my one sided fascist slant”

It’s not code for anything, it’s simply recognizing the facts of what is going on.

[coolcarer]

Good news, a shift in the Correspondence corridor at the Whitehouse. No surprise with NPR being ousted since its being investigated for violating federal law by airing commercials. Great to see NYT shoved out with the NYP replacing it. Surprised at the far left Huffpost being given a table but I suppose it's to stop the whinging from the lefties, that said apparently not reading a couple of the posts here

[Purdey]

I guess the same old faces will be there but some will have an office and some won't. I vote for Ben Brix, current affairs reporter for Housekeeping Weekly to be given a room too. Ben is a hard-hitting journalist who has advised the White House about how to arrange chairs like, forever. 

[Yellowtail]

29 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s not code for anything, it’s simply recognizing the facts of what is going on.

Yes, media outlets that the administration see as reporting on the administration favorably are given a preference, just like during the Biden administration. 

 

Biden revoked passes from what, 400 journalists? No leftists howling over that. 

[Chomper Higgot]

Just now, Yellowtail said:

Yes, media outlets that the administration see as reporting on the administration favorably are given a preference, just like during the Biden administration. 

 

Biden revoked passes from what, 400 journalists? No leftists howling over that. 

It’s not the job of media to provide favorable reports for the Government.

[Yellowtail]

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s not the job of media to provide favorable reports for the Government.

And it's not the job of the government to provide favorable seating for hostile media. 

[placnx]

2 hours ago, jippytum said:

I think the new press Secretary is wonderful. Miss levitt is like a breath of fresh air with her putdowns at press briefings. 

Good to see the Anti Trump media anchors like CNN and their ilk get a tounge lashing from this whitehouse star. 

She has already been caught out in her briefing telling the world that Hamas used condoms as balloons to carry explosives to the enemy. Then Trump repeated same disinformation.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/29/politics/gaza-condoms-fact-check/index.html

[Will B Good]

47 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

And it's not the job of the government to provide favorable seating for hostile media. 

 

Spot on.....favourable seating is now reserved for favourable media who will willingly toe the line.....how sad has the US and US democracy become?

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

 

Spot on.....favourable seating is now reserved for favourable media who will willingly toe the line.....how sad has the US and US democracy become?

It's only sad for the leftists, and no one with any sense believes you anyway. Everyone else is happy that the leftist legacy media lost what little credibility they had during the last election. 

5555555555555555555555555

[Will B Good]

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

It's only sad for the leftists, and no one with any sense believes you anyway. Everyone else is happy that the leftist legacy media lost what little credibility they had during the last election. 

5555555555555555555555555

 

Leftists, centrists, democrats (small d), and those with the common sense to see what a travesty has befallen the US. 

[Yellowtail]

3 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

Leftists, centrists, democrats (small d), and those with the common sense to see what a travesty has befallen the US. 

5555555555555555555

[wavodavo]

21 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

And it's not the job of the government to provide favorable seating for hostile media. 

Well if you own the railway company you can chose what carriage the passengers sit in..1st. class,2nd. 3rd, 4th. or left behind alltogether the station.

[Yellowtail]

4 hours ago, wavodavo said:

Well if you own the railway company you can chose what carriage the passengers sit in..1st. class,2nd. 3rd, 4th. or left behind alltogether the station.

No one seemed to care that Biden revoked 400 passes from the people asking about his health or whatnot. 

[Will B Good]

3 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

No one seemed to care that Biden revoked 400 passes from the people asking about his health or whatnot. 

In May 2023, the White House implemented new credentialing guidelines for press access, requiring reporters to hold accreditation from the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, or Supreme Court. This policy change led to a reduction of 442 reporters with “hard passes,” decreasing the total from 1,417 to 975.

[Yellowtail]

Just now, Will B Good said:

In May 2023, the White House implemented new credentialing guidelines for press access, requiring reporters to hold accreditation from the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, or Supreme Court. This policy change led to a reduction of 442 reporters with “hard passes,” decreasing the total from 1,417 to 975.

5555555555555555555555555

[Cryingdick]

At first I thought it read replace "legacy outfits with news organizations." Made me laugh.