Cable news networks CNN and Fox News joined the news divisions of ABC, NBC and CBS in rejecting the Pentagon’s efforts to manage coverage on the Department of Defense.

“Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues,” the five outlets said in a joint statement Tuesday. “The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.”

The Defense Department last month launched an initiative to curtail journalists’ abilities to gathe

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