I do not cover the Pentagon.

I have never stepped through the doors. I have not attended a briefing. You might think that means the new policy on press access has no impact on me.

You would be wrong. It absolutely does impact every reporter, every journalist, every news outlet.

Under previous rules, reporters signed off on a short, one-page list. They were required to be properly credentialed, to report suspicious activity, to keep their assigned areas secured and to comply with metal detectors and X-rays much like going through an airport.

The new list is much larger, according to a memo signed by chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, a Murrysville native who ran for both U.S. Senate and the U.S. House. The memo is 21 pages long and includes maps and other appendices.

Some of it may seem a bit zealous but that can be attributed to style. Addressing exactly what portions of the building can and cannot be accessed is not that unusual. Hospitals and schools do the same when we cover stories.

A lengthy list of criminal convictions that could prompt revocation of credentials is likewise fine. Few media outlets would want a reporter with terrorism convictions covering the Pentagon. “Unprofessional conduct that might serve to disrupt Pentagon operations,” on the other hand, is a bit vague and leaves the door concerningly open.

The overall tone is suppressive. There is a paragraph that says writing doesn’t have to be submitted for approval but notes that any Defense employees could face consequences under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

And then there is the part about rights versus privileges. The document says there is no right to access the Pentagon — that any accommodation given is a privilege to be granted at the department’s discretion — and that privilege can be removed at any time.

Only one news agency capitulated to the demands: One America News (OAN). In May, a deal was made with OAN to provide content for Voice of America after major changes were made pursuant to an executive order by President Donald Trump.

Every other agency, from right-leaning like Fox News and the Wall Street Journal to more left-leaning like MSNBC and traditional organizations like the Washington Post and New York Times, declined.

The issue is not with parameters regarding classified material. It is the implications of riding the press with a bridle and spurs, potentially controlling what is and isn’t published.

This is not something we do. We do not allow government agencies to tell us what is or is not news.

The obvious reason is that government must be checked. History is riddled with examples of government telling us everything is fine when it is not.

Perhaps the most prominent is — relevantly — the Pentagon Papers, leaked documents regarding the scope and human toll of the Vietnam War. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of journalists in that case, affirming the importance of the First Amendment.

But the true importance is not just about the Pentagon. It is about standing strong against pressure. What happens in one department can be the first pebble in a rock slide.

It is also not just about journalists, because what is truly important is not simply our access to information. We are the conduit from every agency we cover to the people who need to be told what is happening in their government.

You may never step inside the Pentagon. You may never attend a press conference. But the government is answerable to you and must never be allowed to tell you that it is the other way around.

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