A Pentagon Reporter Is Worried About What's Next

Tom Bowman of NPR is losing the Pentagon press pass he's had for 28 years on Tuesday, and he offers both an explanation and a warning about why in an essay. NPR is one of many news organizations that have rejected strict new limits on what reporters can and can't do in the Pentagon laid down by defense chief Pete Hegseth. The rules, write Bowman, will turn journalists into "stenographers parroting press releases, not watchdogs holding government officials accountable." He recounts various instances in his career when his access to generals and others allowed him to challenge the Pentagon's official position, as when Donald Rumsfeld presented an inaccurately rosy assessment of the war in Iraq.

Under the new rules, he and other journalists will no longer have that kind of access, and Bowman is worried:

• "So now, how will the American people find out what is being done at the Pentagon in their name, with their hard-earned tax dollars, and more importantly, the decisions that may put their sons and daughters in harm's way? With no reporters able to ask questions, it seems the Pentagon leadership will continue to rely on slick social media posts, carefully orchestrated short videos and interviews with partisan commentators and podcasters," he writes. "No one should think that's good enough." (Read the full essay.)