Trump administration to remove 4 major news outlets from Pentagon office space
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A memo said the news outlets that were being removed would remain members of the Pentagon press corps and would still be able to attend briefings.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Katie Robertson
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WASHINGTON - The Trump administration
In a memo, Department of Defence spokesperson John Ullyot said that The New York Times, NBC News, NPR and Politico had to vacate their office space by Feb 14 to allow for “a new outlet from the same medium that has not had the unique opportunity to report as a resident member of the Pentagon press corps” for a year as part of a “new annual media rotation programme”.
Mr Ullyot said the New York Post would replace the Times as a print outlet; the conservative cable channel One America News would be swopped in for NBC News; Breitbart News would be a radio outlet instead of NPR; and the news outlet HuffPost, owned by BuzzFeed, would switch with Politico.
It is common for reporters from major news organisations to have access to desks or workspace at government buildings, such as the White House and the US Capitol. The Trump administration has been vocal about wanting to give more access to non-traditional news organisations, including many that have reported favourably on the president.
“Known as the Correspondents’ Corridor, this office space loaned to media outlets by the Secretary of Defence stands as a tribute to the importance the department has long placed on informing the public about the US military,” the memo said.
The memo said the news outlets that were being removed would remain members of the Pentagon press corps and would still be able to attend briefings.
“The only change 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,” Mr Ullyot wrote.
The board of the Pentagon Press Association said in a statement that it had “always welcomed new members and will continue to do so”.
“We are, however, greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to single out highly professional media who have covered the Pentagon for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations,” the board said. “We have asked for a meeting and we will keep everyone informed.” NYTIMES
