It began with unrestrained joy and a flurry of selfies.
When Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon officially moved to sideline veteran military correspondents with decades of combined experience, the ‘New Media’ vanguard rushed in to fill the vacuum.
Influencers and conservative bloggers gleefully posted pictures of themselves lounging in the very seats once occupied by the legacy media.
But just months later, that initial triumph has turned to a bitter realization, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
The new arrivals are finding themselves just as frustrated as the reporters they replaced – trapped in a system of ‘amazing access’ that yields almost ‘zero reportable facts.’
One member of the Pentagon’s ‘new media’ who asked to remain anonymous, described the frustration of reporters being flown across the country only to be gagged on arrival.
‘They say this all the time to us now… access, access, access. But they haven’t on the trip that I went on, they didn’t do one on–the–record briefing. We can’t talk about what we asked the secretary? To be honest, it feels more just like going on a free trip than working.’
When asked if they believed the department was practicing ‘censorship,’ the source said yes after a long pause.
When Pete Hegseth’s Pentagonofficially moved to sideline veteran military correspondents with decades of combined experience, the ‘New Media’ vanguard rushed in to fill the vacuum
Pentagon new media member Laura Loomer on a trip with the Secretary of War and his team in California. Loomer says there have been three trips so far; California, Texas and Alabama. The trips are invite only
Secretary Pete Hegseth pictured with Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (far left), Under Secretary Michael Duffey (far right) and others at Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA
Two sources say the former Fox News host now stays in his hotel room at night during trips –– an effort to fix his ‘bad–boy’ reputation and ‘grow closer to his faith’
‘Honestly, yeah. They’re controlling the messaging hard,’ the conservative reporter told the Daily Mail. ‘The information we new media members have but can’t use… some of it would be breaking news. If a left–wing administration did this, conservatives would be throwing a fit.’
Two Pentagon insiders say Secretary Hegseth has his press team compile a daily list flagging stories written about him.
‘He reads them all,’ one source close to the press team says.
New Media reporters say there have been only a few trips so far.
Loomer admitted complimenting the Pentagon chief on a flight back to California: ‘Yes, I told Pete Hegseth he’s attractive. Not in a weird way or anything.’
Invoking a favorite Trump phrase, she added: ‘The President always talks about ‘central casting’… if you were casting a military figure in a Hollywood movie, Hegseth looks the part. I was emphasizing how inspiring it is for young men to have a Secretary they can aspire to be.’
Another person on the trip said the secretary gave a small smirk in response –– without commenting.
However, even the ‘central casting’ look isn’t enough to sustain a news cycle.
‘He gets pictures after each trip with the military guys driving his motorcade and state troopers directing traffic. He always changes out of his suit on the plane and puts on his vest and baseball cap,’ Real America’s Voice reporter Beni Rae Harmony explains
Real America’s Voice reporter Beni Rae Harmony posing with with military members on a trip to California with the Secretary of War
Pentagon new media member Laura Loomer on a trip with the Secretary of War and team
Despite the friction, Loomer maintains she’s the powerhouse of the room: ‘I think I ask some of the toughest questions… my reporting has led to actual changes.’
She pointed to her reporting on the Department of Defense’s multi–billion dollar contracts with Microsoft’s Azure cloud service and their ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This prompted Hegseth to release an official statement and the Chief Technology Officer to launch an internal investigation into government contracts with Microsoft.
Newly promoted acting press secretary Kingsley Wilson has officially led one briefing with the new media, taking questions from a crowd of right–wing reporters including Loomer, Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe and former Congressman Matt Gaetz.
Before legacy media were booted out, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s Chief Spokesman, conducted two on–camera briefings since being appointed.
At his first, he introduced the new press room format and discussed operations against Houthi targets. His second covered recruitment goals and the Ukraine conflict.
‘He wasn’t comfortable at either—very scripted. Barely took questions, and had preplanned ones called from the future new media row,’ a new media reporter told the Daily Mail.
Gateway Pundit reporter Jordan Conradson confirmed a reality legacy media often complained about, while remaining sympathetic to Hegseth and his team.
‘I definitely expected more briefings. That was disappointing,’ he said.
While he hasn’t seen explicit rules requiring reporters to show stories before publishing, the atmosphere favors suggestion over instruction.
Harmony, who has been on several trips with Hegseth, believes people would support his mission if they saw the Secretary on a human level
‘They’re not instructing us on stories. They’re definitely dropping breadcrumbs,’ Conradson explained.
The pro–Trump reporter also noted the building’s eerie emptiness: ‘I don’t think there are many people in the building anymore. Everyone works from somewhere else.’
Meanwhile, Hegseth is reportedly rehabilitating his image while courting new media.
Two sources say the former Fox News host now stays in his hotel room at night during trips—an effort to fix his ‘bad–boy’ reputation and ‘grow closer to his faith.’
‘He gets pictures after each trip with the military guys driving his motorcade. He always changes out of his suit on the plane and puts on his vest and baseball cap,’ Real America’s Voice reporter Beni Rae Harmony explains.
Harmony, who has been on several trips with Hegseth, believes people would support his mission if they saw the Secretary on a human level.
Still, the Secretary enjoys the perks. Upon landing in California, insiders say he requested an In–N–Out burger delivered to his hotel.
‘I genuinely think he’s trying his best. But on the media side I’m like, ‘No, this is not right,” said one new media reporter, granted anonymity.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said the new press corps has been granted ‘extraordinary, unmatched access, far surpassing anything provided by any previous administration.’ In December alone, nearly 20 Defense Department officials engaged in over 150 one–on–one interviews with the new press corps, while still ‘welcoming feedback.’
