MaddowBlog-As Hegseth eyes new restrictions on the press, media outlets (including Fox News) refuse [View all]

[LetMyPeopleVote]

The beleaguered defense secretary is going so far to crack down on the free press that his former employer is rejecting his proposed restrictions.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/hegseth-eyes-new-restrictions-press-media-outlets-fox-news-refuse-rcna237628

Major broadcast news networks came to the same conclusion. NBC News reported on the joint statement issued by ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News Media and NBC News:

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. ... The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.

...In case this isn’t obvious, the fact that Fox News signed on to this statement is significant, not only because of the degree to which the network is aligned with Republican politics, but also because Fox was Hegseth’s employer as recently as last year.....

As best as I can tell, the only outlet that has endorsed Hegseth’s restrictions is a pro-Trump network called the One America News Network, or OAN.

So what happens now? We’re just hours away from the Pentagon chief’s deadline, and as NBC News’ report noted: “Any media professional who declines to sign has 24 hours to turn in their Pentagon press credential and ‘clear their spaces’ inside the sprawling government complex.” Watch this space.