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U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, successful an unprecedented move, announced precocious connected Friday it would region 4 media organizations including nan New York Times from their dedicated agency spaces successful nan Pentagon, citing a desire to make room for others.
The memo connected a “New Annual Media Rotation Program” said it would besides region National Public Radio, Comcast Corp-owned NBC News and Politico, which must vacate their spaces by Feb. 14. In their place, it would springiness dedicated agency abstraction to nan New York Post, One America News Network, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost News.
Each twelvemonth going forward, 1 outlet from print, online, tv and power will rotate retired of nan Pentagon “to let a caller outlet from nan aforesaid mean that has not had nan unsocial opportunity to study arsenic a resident personnel of nan Pentagon Press Corps,” nan memo said.
“We’re disappointed by nan determination to contradict america entree to a broadcasting booth astatine nan Pentagon that we’ve utilized for galore decades,” an NBC News spokesperson said by email. “Despite nan important obstacles this presents to our expertise to stitchery and study news successful nan nationalist national interest, we will proceed to study pinch nan aforesaid integrity and rigor NBC News ever has.”
The New York Times said it remained committed to covering nan Pentagon “fully and fairly” contempt nan move.
“Steps designed to impede entree are intelligibly not successful nan nationalist interest,” nan Times said successful a statement.
NPR called connected nan Defense Department to grow agency abstraction disposable truthful that each media outlets covering nan Pentagon person adjacent access.
“This determination interferes pinch nan expertise of millions of Americans to straight perceive from Pentagon leadership,” it said.
Politico’s Senior Managing Editor Anita Kumar, successful a statement to staff, said nan statement was troubled by nan decision.
“Our sole purpose is to protect our expertise — and nan expertise of superior competitors — to do rigorous reporting and travel stories wherever they lead,” Kumar wrote.
More than 2 twelve news organizations run retired of nan Pentagon, including Reuters, reporting connected nan regular activities of nan U.S. military.
“To beryllium clear, nan outlets that vacate nan spaces loaned them by nan Secretary (of Defense) will stay afloat members of nan Pentagon Press Corps,” said John Ullyot, acting adjunct to nan caput of defense for nationalist affairs.
“The only alteration will beryllium giving up their beingness activity spaces successful nan building to let caller outlets to person their move to go resident members of nan Pentagon Press Corps.”
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents journalists who screen nan Defense Department, said it was “greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to azygous retired highly master media.”
Reuters analogous Phil Stewart is simply a personnel of nan association’s four-member committee of directors.