Dozens of journalists who cover the US Defence Department vacated their offices in the Pentagon and returned their credentials on Wednesday as new restrictions on press access took effect.
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The Defence Department had set a Tuesday deadline for news outlets to either sign a new Pentagon access policy or lose access to press credentials and Pentagon workspaces.
At least 30 news organisations, including Reuters, declined to sign the new policy, citing a threat to press freedoms and their ability to conduct independent newsgathering on the world’s most powerful military.
The policy required journalists to acknowledge new rules on press access, including that they could be branded security risks and have their Pentagon press badges revoked if they ask department employees to disclose classified and some types of unclassified information.
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents more than 100 news organisations, including Reuters, said in a statement that Wednesday was “a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening US commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all”.
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