NPR is among four news outlets losing their Pentagon office space.
The New York Times, one of the outlets losing its space, reported Saturday that a memo from Department of Defense spokesperson John Ullyot said the outlets must leave their dedicated spaces by Feb. 14 but that they can continue to attend briefings and be part of the press corps.
The New York Post, One America News Network, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost are reportedly replacing the four outlets, which also include NBC News and Politico, under the new “annual media rotation program.”
The Department of Defense declined a request from Current for a copy of the memo.
In a statement on its website, NPR urged the Pentagon to expand its press offices so that all outlets can have equal access.
“More than 40 million Americans depend on NPR for daily news about their communities and the world,” the network’s statement said. “This decision interferes with the ability of millions of Americans to directly hear from Pentagon leadership, and with NPR’s public interest mission to serve Americans who turn to our network of local public media stations in all 50 states.”
Reuters reports that more than two dozen news outlets “operate out of the Pentagon.”
The office change follows news last week that FCC Chair Brendan Carr asked the commission’s Enforcement Bureau to investigate underwriting announcements of NPR, PBS and member stations.