US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth believes the media has not been sufficiently effusive about the success of the American military operation against Iran.
He had just finished speaking about the massive damage inflicted upon the regime in Tehran – its leadership, its missile stocks, its navy, its weapons infrastructure – when he turned his attention to the Pentagon press pack.
“Some in this crew, in the press, just can’t stop,” Hegseth said on Friday (US time). He took issue with television banner headlines saying the war was “intensifying” or “widening”.
Instead, Hegseth argued the headlines should say “Iran increasingly desperate” or “Iran shrinking, going underground”. That’s what “an actual patriotic press” would do, he said.
But then he unleashed on the real enemy: CNN. A story running on the network over the past 24 hours has particularly incensed the White House. It reported that top Trump administration officials had conceded to members of Congress during recent classified briefings that “they did not plan for the possibility” Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US-Israeli strikes, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
Hegseth called the story “patently ridiculous”, noting Iran has threatened shipping in the strait for decades. “This is what they always do – they hold the strait hostage,” he said. “CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report.”
For all his equally unserious blustering, Hegseth may have had a point. Even in this fast-and-loose administration, it’s difficult to fathom that no one would have considered the Iranians making mischief in the strait. Of course, that doesn’t mean adequate planning took place.
CNN has since added a sizeable clarification to the story, and its chief executive Mark Thompson issued a statement saying the network stands by its journalism.
But Hegseth couldn’t help himself. He had to go further. “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network the better,” he added. In those 10 words, the Defence Secretary said the quiet part out loud.
One of the ongoing themes of the second Trump administration has been its desire to not just complain about the media but to use the power and influence of the federal government to pressure media owners into more favourable coverage.
David Ellison is chairman and chief executive of Paramount Skydance, formed in the $US8 billion merger of Paramount and Skydance last year, which required federal regulatory approval. His father is Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and one of the world’s richest people.
Paramount Skydance has entered into an agreement to buy Warner Bros Discovery, which owns, among other things, CNN. The mega-deal was announced last month after the Ellison-led firm outbid rival suitor Netflix.
President Donald Trump, a New York businessman by background, is friends with both Ellisons. And though he has at times claimed not to be involved in the deal, he appears to be knee-deep in it.
Trump has openly insisted CNN must be sold and changed, lamenting its coverage of him. In December, The Wall Street Journal reported that David Ellison offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner Bros, he would “make sweeping changes to CNN”. And earlier in February, before the deal was finalised, Ellison reportedly met privately with Trump at the White House.
Hegseth’s latest remarks put it out in the open – the Trump administration is expecting David Ellison’s Paramount to make significant changes at CNN that are favourable to the government.
As former CNN Pentagon reporter Barbara Starr noted, it’s possible that Ellison will be none-too-pleased about Hegseth’s implications.
Starr, a 21-year veteran of the defence beat, pointed out on X that CNN has sent personnel to combat zones for decades, with some even losing their lives. “You have a legal and moral obligation to defend the free press, even the ones you don’t personally like,” she told Hegseth.
As a former TV presenter before he was tasked with running the world’s most powerful military, press freedom should be Hegseth’s instinct. His comments today – and his vainglorious move to banish press photographers from his briefings – suggest he sees the media more as a vassal to serve his interests.
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.
