National

Press freedom

Editorial

The Herald's View October 16, 2025 — 3.44pm

An unprecedented crackdown on the rights of journalists covering the Pentagon represents a dark day for democracy, and should serve as a wake-up call for complacent Australians who take press freedom on our own shores as a given.

Almost all reporters based at the Pentagon packed their belongings and walked out of the building on Thursday after the Department of War cancelled their passes for refusing to sign up to new conditions that media outlets have described as censorious and “disturbing”.

As the Herald’s Michael Koziol reports , the US Department of War wants pass holders to sign a new document that, among other things, stipulates they cannot solicit information that has not been explicitly auth

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