The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon to implement new measures that, it contends, limit journalistic work and violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The media asked the justice system to prevent the regulation from entering into force.
These restrictions were imposed by the Department of Defense — which Donald Trump’s administration recently renamed the Department of War — and tightened controls on journalistic activity. In October, several news organizations, including the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Fox News, and the New York Times itself, refused to sign on to the new standards set for credentialed journalists.
requirements
The regulations require journalists not to request or publish certain data without obtaining prior permission. If you do not meet this requirement, you may lose your credentials. The lawsuit warns that the regulations allow accreditations to be suspended or revoked at any time and without clear criteria, which – as the Times points out – represents a serious risk to freedom of information.
The administration seeks to “restrict journalists’ ability to ask questions of government employees and obtain information beyond official statements,” the court filing said.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the government has strengthened its policy of media control in the military field. At the beginning of the year, eight organizations — including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN — were banned from entering Pentagon facilities. In addition, the frequency of press conferences has been reduced and circulation inside the building has been restricted, with only an escort permitted to visit them.
The Pentagon, the nation’s largest employer with an annual budget in the hundreds of billions of dollars, is one of the main points of access to information for North American journalism. The dispute now remains in the hands of justice.