A dangerous precedent in Washington
There’s a troubling scene that played out in Washington last week, and while it may seem far from Riverdale, it cuts to the core of something we care about deeply:
The public’s right to know.
On Oct. 15, dozens of seasoned reporters quietly gathered their belongings, turned in their press credentials and walked out of the Pentagon. These weren’t just cable news stars or White House beat reporters. They were defense correspondents, journalists who’ve spent years, even decades, holding the most secretive parts of our government accountable.
They left because the Department of War, under Secretary Pete Hegseth, issued new rules that made it nearly impossible for journalists to do their jobs. The most chilling clause? A ban on “soliciting” any information from government employees without prior approval — even if that information is declassified.
Let that sink in.
Under the new policy, even asking a question that the Pentagon hasn’t signed off on could get a reporter kicked out. In exchange for continued access, journalists were expected to sign a document acknowledging the new terms, which many rightly viewed as an intimidation tactic and a breach of press freedom.
Most refused. Including Fox News. Including Newsmax. Including nearly every reputable news outlet across the spectrum. In the end, only a small handful of reporters, mostly freelancers for foreign agencies or aligned outlets like One America News, remained.
So why should readers of The Riverdale Press care what happens in the Pentagon briefing room?
Because when journalists lose access at the top, transparency dries up all the way down the chain, and it is our communities that suffer most.
Will we still receive a press release when toxic chemicals are dumped near a Bronx waterway by a military contractor? What about when local reservists are deployed to a volatile region with no public explanation? Certainly, updates have been in short supply regarding local undocumented immigrants that have been kidnapped by ICE officials.
National security may start in Washington, but its ripple effects are felt in communities like ours.
Local newspapers like ours depend on freedom of information laws, whistleblowers and open lines of communication to piece together stories that affect real people. When the highest offices in government shut the door on journalists, it signals that secrecy is acceptable. That scrutiny is optional. That accountability is a nuisance.
This isn’t just about access. It’s about trust. For democracy to function, the public needs to know what its government is doing, especially with the immense power and budget the Pentagon commands. That information doesn’t just appear on our pages. It comes from reporters doing the quiet, unglamorous and often dangerous work of asking questions and checking answers.
When we lose the ability to follow the money, the weapons, the deployments and the decisions, we all lose.
The current press policy at the Pentagon is more than a bureaucratic change. It’s a chilling precedent. It trades transparency for control and journalism for propaganda.
We applaud the courage of the reporters who walked out this week rather than compromise their principles. We understand the concerning efforts taken by the many news organizations that have since walked out due to unfair demands from the current administration.
Because if journalists can’t report on how our military operates, who will be left to ask the hard questions?
Certainly not those handpicked to tell the story the Pentagon wants to tell.
And that should concern every Riverdalian who still believes that democracy works best when it’s watched carefully — not behind a closed door, but in the light.
