Trump’s Pentagon says it will ‘rotate’ out some media from offices

WASHINGTON, USA – President Donald Trump‘s administration, in an unprecedented move, announced late on Friday, January 31, it would remove four media organizations including the New York Times from their dedicated office spaces in the Pentagon, citing a desire to make room for others.

The memo on a “New Annual Media Rotation Program” said it would also remove National Public Radio, Comcast Corp-owned NBC News, and Politico, which must vacate their spaces by February 14. In their place, it would give dedicated office space to the New York Post, One America News Network, Breitbart News Network, and HuffPost News.

Each year going forward, one outlet from print, online, television, and radio will rotate out of the Pentagon “to allow a new outlet from the same medium that has not had the unique opportunity to report as a resident member of the Pentagon Press Corps,” the memo said.

The New York Times, NBC, Politico, and National Public Radio did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

More than two dozen news organizations operate out of the Pentagon, including Reuters, reporting on the daily activities of the US military.

“To be clear, the outlets that vacate the spaces loaned them by the Secretary (of Defense) will remain full members of the Pentagon Press Corps,” John Ullyot, acting assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.

“The only change will be giving up their physical work spaces in the building to allow new outlets to have their turn to become resident members of the Pentagon Press Corps.”

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents journalists who cover the Defense Department, said it was “greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to single out highly professional media.” – Rappler.com