Pentagon doubles number of news outlets to ‘rotate’ out from office spaces
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More than two dozen news organisations operate out of the Pentagon in Virginia, the US, reporting on the daily activities of the US military.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – The US Defence Department on Feb 7 doubled the number of news organisations that must vacate their Pentagon office spaces to be replaced by other media outlets under a new “annual media rotation programme”.
The department said in a memo it was adding CNN, The Washington Post, The Hill and The War Zone to the outlets that must give up their dedicated space.
In the first round, the US Defence Department said a week ago The New York Times, NBC News, Politico and the National Public Radio had to vacate their dedicated workspaces at the Pentagon.
Incoming media outlets include the New York Post, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, The Free Press, The Daily Caller, Newsmax, The Huffington Post and One America News Network, most of whom are seen as conservative or favouring Republican US President Donald Trump, who took office on Jan 20.
Outgoing outlets will remain members of the Pentagon Press Corps, the memo said, adding that the rotation expressed a desire to make room for other media outlets.
More than two dozen news organisations operate out of the Pentagon, including Reuters, reporting on the daily activities of the US military.
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents journalists who cover the US Defence Department, said it was “shocked and deeply disappointed by the Defence Department’s decision to double the number of news organisations it is removing in two weeks from their dedicated workspaces in the Pentagon from four to eight”. REUTERS
