17/10/2025
The editorial today from SMH. Fierce attack on War Secretary Hegseth.
"Even in Trump’s America, the crackdown on Pentagon reporters is chilling stuff
The Herald's View
October 16, 2025 — 3.44pm
An unprecedented crackdown on the rights of journalists covering the Pentagon represents a dark day for democracy and should serve as a wake-up call for complacent Australians who take press freedom on our shores as a given.
Almost all reporters based at the Pentagon packed their belongings and walked out of the building on Thursday after the Department of War cancelled their passes for refusing to sign up to new conditions that media outlets have described as censorious and “disturbing”.
As the Herald’s Michael Koziol reports, the US Department of War wants pass holders to sign a new document that, among other things, stipulates they cannot solicit information that has not been explicitly authorised for release by the Pentagon, exposing reporters to punishment for routine journalism.
Even in Trump’s America, where attacks on journalists and outlets are increasing, this is chilling stuff. It is an assault on the fundamental tenets of democracy, and another reminder that the War Secretary, former Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth, is totally unsuited to the role. Readers should not forget that this is the same imbecile who posted highly sensitive military operation details to a high-level government group chat that – unbeknownst to him – included a senior American journalist.
However, the fish rots from the head, and President Donald Trump bears ultimate responsibility for this fiasco. Trump has set the tone for hostility towards a free press, and Hegseth is a mere useful idiot to the president’s broader campaign against accountability and transparency.
The Herald applauds those outlets which took a stand for journalism by refusing to sign up to the appalling new conditions. Almost every news organisation across the political spectrum refused to accept the Pentagon’s clampdown, including News Corp’s Fox News, the conservative channel Newsmax, major newspapers and TV networks, and newswires such as AP, Reuters and AFP.
The outlets say they will continue to cover American defence policy, but the truth is their banishment from operating in the Pentagon building will have an impact on reporting at a time when global disorder – and the American military’s response – is a top-order issue for the US and its allies.
While the Pentagon’s shift towards a North Korea-style information control regime sits at the extreme end of the spectrum, it would be a mistake to think the rights and freedoms of Australian reporters are not under strain.
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Australia ranks only 29th place on the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, with countries such as Taiwan, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Latvia and Lithuania having a better overall media environment.
Related Article
Members of the Pentagon press corps leave the building, carrying their belongings on Wednesday afternoon.
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‘We are not backing down’: Reporters pack up, walk out as Pentagon ‘confiscates’ almost all press badges
In Australia, freedom of information laws are a joke, and they are about to get even harder to navigate under pending changes by the Albanese government. In the Lucky Country, whistleblowers are prosecuted, the Department of Defence and its army of spin doctors routinely refuse to release the most basic of information, and press access to our state and federal parliaments still contain onerous restrictions on movement and operation.
We can only hope Australian officials don’t look to the US and get any more ideas."
