Pentagon Access: Extra Defensive   

The Pentagon cracks down on who gets press passes

Washington, D.C., reporters from regional news outlets know how hard it can be to get access to sources. But getting a foot in the door at the Pentagon--literally--is even harder lately: Officials there have been enforcing a policy that only full-time Pentagon reporters or those who visit at least twice a week can get building passes.

Without a pass, reporters can only use one building entrance, and they must be escorted at all times. In addition, reporters without passes are restricted to the event or interview they came for--they can't simply drop in to chat with potential sources.

According to Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, the policy has existed for more than two decades. But while some at the Pentagon say its enforcement hasn't changed, regional reporters noticed a crackdown around July.

A two-visit weekly minimum can be prohibitive for reporters from small bureaus who can't devote all or even most of their time to one beat, says John Aubuchon, president of the National Press Club and a member of the Regional Reporters Association. The "onerous and arbitrary" time requirement discriminates against smaller organizations, Aubuchon, senior correspondent for Maryland Public Television, wrote in a letter to Victoria Clarke, assistant secretary of defense.

Clarke wrote back, saying that the size of a news organization isn't considered in deciding who gets a pass. Instead, decisions are "based on meeting the frequency requirement and demonstrating that defense issues are a major part of [the reporter's] portfolio."

Marc Heller, a reporter with the Watertown Daily Times of New York and president of the regional reporters group, almost lost his building pass, which he's had for several years. When he tried to renew the pass in July, the Pentagon press office told him that he hadn't written enough about defense issues.

It took phone calls, letters and a packet of Heller's clips before he got renewed. "I got the pass because I screamed bloody murder," says Heller, who worries that even though he got the pass this time, with his unpredictable schedule, next time might be problematic. Reporters have to renew the passes yearly.

"I was there for [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld's briefing yesterday, but I might not be there again this week. Then I might be there three or four times next week. I just don't know. In a one-person bureau I have to cover every federal agency," he says.

Others have had trouble, too. Michael Remez, a reporter covering defense, business and Connecticut issues as part of the Hartford Courant's four-person Washington bureau, let his building pass expire in August after Pentagon officials said it probably wouldn't be renewed. He's had a pass since 1994. "I'm going to go over there when I need to," he says. "I could go long stretches without being over there at all."

Although reporters without passes can still get inside the building, it's much harder to do so. Pass-less reporters are pretty much limited to the entrance closest to the Department of Defense briefing room, according to Pentagon spokesman Glenn Flood. From there, they "have to be escorted,...brought into the security desk, given a little red badge that says escort required at all times, come to the press briefing room, cover the event, get escorted out, and give up the little red badge," Flood says.

In other words, it takes longer for reporters without passes to get into the building and, once there, they can't stray. That makes developing sources much harder, says Bill McAllister, MediaNews Group's D.C. bureau chief. "It's pretty darn inhibiting," he adds.

McAllister gave up on getting a pass earlier this year. "For stories that are on the margins, I'd rather do a story on the Hill, where I know I can get access," McAllister says.

Reporters at outlets with more regular defense coverage haven't had such a hard time. For instance, Dale Eisman has covered defense and Navy issues since 1994 for Norfolk's Virginian-Pilot. Renewing his pass at the end of September was simple. But Eisman's beat often takes him to the Pentagon four or five times a week. Ann Scott Tyson, who covers defense for the Christian Science Monitor and usually heads to the Pentagon a couple times a week, got her pass shortly after September 11. "My pass came through very quickly," she says.

The Pentagon's pass enforcement is part of overall security enhancement over the past few years, Flood says, explaining it had gotten to the point where more than 1,000 reporters had passes. "We had to crack down on that. We wanted to make sure they truly were reporters covering the Pentagon and not just someone with a badge."

Those restrictive measures could backfire, McAllister says. "It's going to hurt them in the long run," he says. "Someday, they'll need these reporters to tell their stories."