Fox News Rebukes Ex-Host Pete Hegseth's Pentagon Press Access Policy [View all]
Source: Newsweek
Published Oct 14, 2025 at 01:19 PM EDT updated Oct 14, 2025 at 02:08 PM EDT
Fox News has joined other major media outlets in rejecting and criticizing a new Pentagon press access policy put forward by President Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who previously worked as a contributor and co-host at Fox News. "The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections," Fox News said in a statement emailed to Newsweek, which was joined by ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News. Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon for comment on Tuesday.
Why It Matters
The Pentagon has been fielding concerns from media outlets in recent weeks over its plans to change its policies around reporting on goings on at the Department of Defense's HQ. The decision by Fox News to speak out against the plans, as a right-leaning outlet, may come as more of a blow to the Trump administration than from legacy media often denounced by the current White House.
What to Know
The main issue around the policy comes down to how information is shared with reporters. The initial plan called for all department information, whether classified or not, to be run past Pentagon officials before an outlet could be allowed to publish an article.
In the statement shared with Newsweek by Fox News, the group of media outlets said: "Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/pete-hegseth-pentagon-press-access-fox-news-10878748
Only ONE outlet signed it - OAN - Only one news outlet has signed on to Hegseth’s media loyalty oath — even Trump-favoring Fox News is boycotting it
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