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'Journalism is not a crime'

As Pentagon beat reporters prepared to hand in their press passes yesterday, some noticed a new poster on the wall leading to the "Correspondents' Corridor." The sign said "journalism is not a crime."

It was a silent protest of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new policy that criminalizes routine reporting. By this morning, the poster was gone. But there is still, perhaps ironically, an old plaque in the hallway that promotes the Pentagon’s principles for the "free flow of information."

Press advocates say Hegseth is undermining those principles by pushing reporters out of the Pentagon and trying to stop them from talking with sources.

But Hegseth ultimately controls access to the complex, so journalists are giving up their credentials en masse, in one of the most striking examples of news media solidarity we've seen this year.

Even Fox News, Newsmax and The Daily Caller have rejected the policy. ("Hegseth has united the media!" Chuck Todd remarked.) OnlyOne America News, the small pro-Trump channel known for opinion shows, not news coverage, is going along with it.

And maybe that's just how Hegseth likes it. But military officers who liaise with the press at the Pentagon have privately expressed regret about the clampdown. One longtime military reporter described "lots of grim, sad faces and apologies."

The reporter, who requested anonymity to relay private conversations, told me "there's a thought among some of them that in a country where the military and civilians are somewhat living in parallel worlds, this will not help bridge any gaps." Here's my latest story...

'I'm not going to stop doing my job'

Global news brands like CNN and Reuters aren't the only ones affected by Hegseth's clampdown. Tony Bertuca, chief Pentagon editor for Inside Defense, which produces subscription newsletters for the industry, talked to me while heading to the office — well, his former office — to turn in his credentials this morning.

"The government has been discouraging inquiry at the Pentagon for months now: practically zero press briefings and gaggles, and lots of one-way communication with the public through social media," he pointed out. The unacceptable new policy will make it even more difficult to question officials. But "the defense beat is all about following the money," he said. "With a $1 trillion budget? They can't hide. And I'm not going to stop doing my job."

Indeed, for an excellent example of what covering the Pentagon from the outside looks like, check out Natasha Bertrand's latest for CNN.com: "How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action."

 >> When I read about yet another US strike off the coast of Venezuela last night, I thought of another example: When NYT reporter Julie Turkewitz was granted a rare visa to enter Venezuela last month, she searched for family members of the alleged drug smugglers, because that ground-level view is much more valuable than the aerial imagery of exploding boats. 

'It's going to backfire'

"Government censorship: It's something that candidate Donald Trump promised that he would end, but nine months in, it has become a staple of his administration," Abby Phillip said on "NewsNight" last night. She noted that Trump endorsed Hegseth's press policy.

But "it's going to backfire," panelist Sara Fischer predicted. "Every time you try to tell journalists not to look somewhere, they're going to double down. That's the irony of this whole thing." She predicted that "news outlets will invest even more in covering the Pentagon from the outside if they're not going to get the access on the inside."

MSNBC president's diagnosis

MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she will undergo surgery next month. In the spirit of transparency, Kutler shared the news with employees on MSNBC's editorial call this morning, after briefing her leadership team and speaking with some of the network's top anchors yesterday. She told staffers that the prognosis is good and that she anticipates being away for just a few weeks.

 >> Kutler, who has three kids, also urged her team to take care of themselves and their health — to prioritize their own health even in the midst of an unprecedented news cycle. We're wishing her a very speedy recovery.

A pivotal moment for MS

Kutler's personal health news comes at a pivotal moment for MSNBC, as the network splits apart from NBC News and rebrands itself as MS NOW. Ten months of work building out a standalone news operation is starting to bear fruit. And a multi-million dollar brand campaign is about to begin. (The new name is expected to take effect in the coming weeks.)

Rachel Maddow was asked about it in this new interview with VF, pegged to Friday's premiere of her latest documentary, "Andrew Young: The Dirty Work." Maddow pointed out that "we're still going to be called MS" by viewers. 

“MSNBC — MS NOW — we are actually in a pretty good position," Maddow said. "We're hiring, we're this big news-gathering organization, and we’re building it out right now, for this moment — understanding the dynamics and the pressures that are at work in the media business... For everything that's going on in the business, I'd rather be us than any other media entity right now."

Standoffs in Chicago

This powerfully visual story, leading the NYT home page right now, describes how Chicago residents are responding to the intensifying ICE crackdown: "In the last several weeks, Chicagoans have formed volunteer groups to monitor their neighborhoods for federal immigration agents, posting alerts on Facebook and in Signal group chats when agents are seen."

The government is well aware. Attorney General Pam Bondi said yesterday that the DOJ contacted Facebook about a "large group page that was being used to dox and target ICE agents in Chicago," and Meta agreed to take it down. 

Bondi says the DOJ "will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement."

Big Tech complies

Any violence is deplorable, but the government pressure still warrants scrutiny. The Bulwark's Sam Stein made this point on X: "When the Biden admin reached out to Facebook to take down pages filled with Covid disinformation it caused [Mark] Zuckerberg to decry a full assault on free speech in America. Now, the Trump admin reaches out to remove ICE information and Facebook complies."

You'll recall that Bondi also took credit when Apple removed ICE tracking apps earlier this month. In a new column today, MSNBC's Anthony Fisher says Apple "gave ICE agents the 'Blue Lives Matter' treatment" — here's what he means by that.

 >> Speaking of ICE and Chicago, we will keep an eye on this: The WGN station employee detained by federal agents last week "disputes DHS account she threw objects at a Border Patrol car."

COMING UP...

Zohran goes on Fox today

NYC Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is constantly discussed on Fox News, usually in critical ways. (A SnapStream search shows more than 500 mentions of Mamdani on Fox in just the past two weeks.) Today, he'll actually be the one doing the talking. Mamdani is booked on "The Story with Martha MacCallum" at 3 p.m. ET. The pre-interview hype is reminiscent of Kamala Harris sitting down with Bret Baier last fall...

Mamdani gets the 'three threes' 

This is a concept attributed to Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres in Astead Herndon's must-read new NYT piece. Torres "said Mamdani is 'a once-in-a-generation communicator' who has mastered what he called the 'three threes': A candidate in today’s day and age needs to be able to explain ideas in a 30-second vertical social media video, a three-minute television hit and a three-hour long-form podcast."

CNN holds a shutdown town hall

Kaitlan Collins will host a live town hall with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders tonight at 9 p.m. ET. The studio audience will include people "who have been directly affected by the shutdown," the network says. (Republican leaders were invited to participate, "and the invitation stands.") Viewers can submit questions here...

Briefly...

 >> Olivia Nuzzi is set to publish a book later this year that will address her relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., scoops Oliver Darcy. (Status)

 >> Sen. Cory Booker went on "I've Had It," a fast-growing liberal podcast, and it got heated, Lydia O'Connor reports. (HuffPost)

 >> "The most expensive political ad campaign of the year is being run by the Department of Homeland Security," Brittany Gibson writes. (Axios)

 >> SCOTUS has rebuffed Alex Jones’ effort "to overturn $1.4 billion Sandy Hook judgment," John Fritze reports. (CNN)

Netflix 🤝 Spotify

"After months of speculation, Netflix is taking its first step into the world of video podcasting," the NYT's Nicole Sperling and Jessica Testa wrote as Netflix's distribution deal with Spotify was announced yesterday. The deal starts with 16 shows, including "The Bill Simmons Podcast," "Conspiracy Theories" and other popular titles.

"This offers more choice to creators and unlocks a completely new distribution opportunity," Netflix VP Lauren Smith said. And, the NYT noted, "the deal prevents the shows from airing in their entirety on YouTube, Netflix’s biggest competitor..."

Today's tech talk

 >> "You can no longer trust your eyes:" This Brian X. Chen column about Sora and the "era of fakery" leads the Business section today. (NYT)

 >> Sam Altman says this is about treating "adults like adults:" An upcoming version of ChatGPT "will relax existing restrictions to allow more content, including erotica, for verified adult users." (CNN)

 >> Maybe this will make a small dent in the foreign grifters who sow US divisions one tweet at a time? X is experimenting with "displaying new information on profiles, including which country an account is based," Nikita Bier says. (X)

 >> Samantha Subin's latest: "California just passed new AI and social media laws. Here's what they mean for Big Tech." (CNBC)

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

Imagine this conversation...

Via Andrew Kolvet

TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet shared this photo from yesterday's White House ceremony honoring Charlie Kirk with the words, "For Charlie."

It was an exceptionally rare gathering of past and present Fox stars, some of whom have beefed over the years. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, I'd rather read a thousand words about the reunion...

This edition of Reliable Sources was edited by Andrew Kirell and produced with Liam Reilly. Email us your feedback and tips here.