❓WHAT HAPPENED: The National Pulse officially joined the Pentagon’s press corps on Wednesday, following an effort by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to open access to the department to news outlets beyond Washington, D.C.’s corporate media establishment.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam and political editor Will Upton, along with senior Pentagon officials like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell, and the corporate media.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday, October 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We are excited to announce over 60 journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists, have signed the Pentagon’s media access policy and will be joining the new Pentagon press corps.” — Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell
🎯IMPACT: The Pentagon press corps and new media policy aim to prevent the leakage of classified information, while also expanding access to “a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists.”
The National Pulse officially joined the Pentagon’s press corps on Wednesday, following an effort by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to open access to the department to news outlets beyond Washington, D.C.’s corporate media establishment.
“Thank you for opening this up from previously only being accessible to the (often foreign-funded) corporate media,” The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) addressed to Hegesh. The National Pulse’s political editor, Will Upon, will serve as the lead Pentagon correspondent, with Kassm providing coverage as well.
NEWS: I am pleased to announce @TheNatPulse is now part of the Pentagon’s press corps.
Thank you for opening this up from previously only being accessible to the (often foreign-funded) corporate media, @PeteHegseth @SecWar.@KingsleyCortes @SeanParnellUSA @realJoelValdez… https://t.co/DSnEOIm0zp
— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) October 22, 2025
“We are excited to announce over 60 journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists, have signed the Pentagon’s media access policy and will be joining the new Pentagon press corps. Twenty-six journalists across 18 outlets were among the former Pentagon press corps who chose to sign the DOW media access policy,” Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell said in a statement.
“New media outlets and independent journalists have created the formula to circumvent the lies of the mainstream media and get real news directly to the American people. Their reach and impact collectively are far more effective and balanced than the self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon,” he added.
Today, the Department of War is announcing the next generation of the Pentagon press corps.
We are excited to announce over 60 journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists, have signed the Pentagon’s media access policy and will be…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 22, 2025
In late September, the Pentagon undertook a major shake-up of its press corps aimed at cracking down on leaks of classified information and the malicious publication of national security secrets. This included issuing a renewed Pentagon media policy designed to prevent media presence in sensitive national security areas and limit access to Pentagon officials without approval from the Department of War.
Notably, the number of former Pentagon press corps members who have signed on to the media policy has risen to 26, representing 18 total media outlets. Just over 60 journalists are being accredited for the first time.
The leak of a preliminary, low-confidence Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment of the U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities via CNN’s Natasha Bertand likely gave urgency to the policy change. Media outlets used documents to prematurely declare the bombings a failure.
Bertrand has a long history of politically motivated reporting, having aggressively promoted the Russiagate hoax. She has also been credibly accused of serving as a conduit for defense and intelligence community partisans who worked to suppress news coverage of Hunter Biden’s “Laptop from Hell,” smearing it as Russian disinformation.
Notably, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, née Cortes, previously served as a writing fellow at The National Pulse,
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