Media heavyweights to be replaced by pro-Trump news sites in the Pentagon

A week after Pete Hegseth was confirmed as Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary, four major news outlets were told to pack up and move out of the Pentagon to make way for pro-Trump substitutes.

The New York Times, NBC News, NPR and Politico are to give up their physical space by February 14 to smaller right-wing sites including Breitbart News and One America News as part of what a Pentagon spokesman called a “new annual media rotation.”

The New York Times responded to the new policy, saying: “This move to expel The Times and other independent, fact-based news outlets from the Pentagon’s press spaces is a concerning development.”

“The Times is committed to covering the Pentagon fully and fairly. Steps designed to impede access are clearly not in the public interest.”

According to NPR spokeswoman Isabel Lara, the move “interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership.”

She added that it also interfered with “NPR’s public interest mission to serve Americans who turn to our network of local public media stations in all 50 states.”

According to CNN, Breitbart which is slated to replace NPR in the Pentagon and has a pro-Trump website, has the shakiest of radio operations with a reach that doesn’t begin to compare to NPR.

Photo: screenshot of Breitbart front page.

One America, meanwhile, is so insignificant it slipped through the net when it came to Nielsen ratings measurement service.  It is also facing a slew of lawsuits concerning its misleading output on the Jan 6 Capitol riots, CNN reports.

Photo: One America News X account

While the Pentagon spokesman insisted that the major news sites would still remain members of the Pentagon news corps, this did little to placate those ousted.

Kevin Baron, a former vice president of the Pentagon Press Association, called the measure “the erasure of journalism at the Pentagon.”

“Kicking out reporters HURTS coverage. If you can’t file your stories from inside the building you are disadvantaged. If you don’t have a work space you are disadvantaged,” Baron said on X.

Photo: Kevin Baron X account.

NBC news pointed out that it had reported on the allegations against the new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including his alcohol consumption and his abusive behavior towards women.

NBC’s news spot is to be replaced by One America News. The New York Post will replace The New York Times and The Huff Post will replace Politico.

Politico’s senior managing editor, Anita Kumar, let it be known that Politico was “troubled by this decision,” The New York Times reports.

PHOTO: Anita Kumar X account

The board of the Pentagon Press Association said in a statement that it had “always welcomed new members and will continue to do so.”

It added: “We are, however, greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by D.O.D. to single out highly professional media who have covered the Pentagon for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. We have asked for a meeting.”

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