New era for White House press briefings? What is Trump's ‘rotate out’ plan for news outlets

Pentagon Press Association was "greatly troubled" by the move from the Trump-led administration to "single out highly professional media".

Published on: Feb 1, 2025, 10:28:02 IST

By HT News Desk

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US President Donald Trump's administration late on Friday announced that four media outlets, from print, online, television and radio, will "rotate out" of the Pentagon to make space for new organisations.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised traditional media as the "enemy of the people". (AP)

The memo named 'New Annual Media Rotation Program' said that it would remove the New York Times, National Public Radio, Comcast Corp-owned NBC News and Politico, which must vacate the Pentagon spaces by February 14. In their place, the Trump administration will make dedicated spaces for the offices of the New York Post, One America News Network, Breitbard News Network and HuffPost News.

It said that going forward, every year, one outlet from each of the four mediums 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," a Reuters report said.

At present, more than two dozen media organisations operate out if the Pentagon, reporting on the daily activities of the American military.

New era for White House press briefings

John Ullyot, acting assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs said, "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."

"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," he added.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon Press Association, representing journalists who cover the Defense Department, expressed that it was "greatly troubled" by the move from the Trump-led administration to "single out highly professional media".

This comes just days after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced plans of allocating seats in the press briefing room to representatives from "new media" outlets, including social media influencers, podcasters, and content creators.

Leavitt had said, "Millions of Americans, particularly young people, have shifted away from traditional television and newspapers to consume news through podcasts, blogs, social media, and other independent platforms."

"It is crucial for our team to share President Trump's message widely and adapt the White House to the evolving media landscape of 2025," she added.

Leavitt on Friday said that the White House was flooded with more than 10,000 applicants for the seat.

This marks a new beginning for the White House press briefing traditions, with Trump repeatedly criticising traditional media as the "enemy of the people".

(with inputs from agencies)

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HT News Desk
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