So far, the people who own the biggest news media outlets in the country have not been doing a notable job of standing up to Donald Trump. The television and cable networks have largely knuckled under, with several of them paying what can only be called multimillion-dollar medieval tributes to the king. Print journalism has had its exceptions -- organizations which are still standing firm and suing Trump in court (and being countersued) -- but some have also adopted "go along to get along" policies (most notably the Washington Post, which has seen an enormous exodus of longstanding journalistic talent leave, after the paper decided their editorial board had to be more friendly to Trump). But today, virtually all of them stood together and said "No!" to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Today was the deadline to sign a loyalty oath to retain Pentagon media credentials. More on that in a moment. First, though, a comprehensive list of who cheerfully signed away their First Amendment rights:

One America News.

Next, a partial list of those who refused to sign and are reportedly packing up their desks and their camera crews in preparation for departing the premises (this is only a partial list since I didn't include defense-oriented publications or other technical journals):

ABC News, Associated Press, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg News, CBS News, CNN, The Economist, The Financial Times, Fox News, The Guardian, The Hill, HuffPost, MSNBC, NBC News, The New York Times, Newsmax, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Politico, RealClearPolitics, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Examiner, The Washington Post, and The Washington Times.

That's an extraordinary amount of solidarity, you have to admit. Other than One America News, all the far-right networks (such as Fox News and Newsmax) and the leaning-right outlets are standing together with far-left outlets and leaning-left outlets and others who still strive for editorial balance. The list can easily be shortened to: "everyone except One America News."

This is heartening news for anyone who cares about the First Amendment's freedom of the press. The press is, of course, the only private industry even mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. And it's there for a good reason. Having a free press -- especially one that includes outlets from all parts of the ideological spectrum -- guarantees that few things are missed. Whether you're searching for news from a rightwing point of view or a lefty outlook (or anywhere in between), journalists are there to provide what they see as important stories. And they are allowed to use the tools of their trade to uncover those stories -- or at least, they were up until now.

Pete Hegseth's tenure as head of the Pentagon has been a rocky one, filled with scandals and internal chaos. Many of the stories that journalists have reported on Hegseth and the Pentagon have been highly embarrassing. Hegseth is outraged at all this, and has reportedly tried to launch a loyalty campaign among the top Pentagon brass -- including forcing them to take polygraphs. He's trying to sniff out who has been leaking these stories to the press.

Roughly a month ago, Hegseth unveiled his new loyalty oath policy for journalists covering the Pentagon. They all were presented with a pledge that said they wouldn't gather any information -- even if it was unclassified -- that hadn't been expressly authorized for release. Anyone who refused to sign the pledge would have their press credentials revoked. Hegseth couched it all as fighting against "security threats," which is pretty downright Orwellian.

A reporter who signs and follows these guidelines is no longer a reporter, but instead just a conduit for propaganda. The government (in general) is forbidden from such editorial interference, because the American people are entitled to any truths which journalists manage to uncover no matter what the people in power think about it. Having the military pre-approve stories or even just information releases is not what the free press is all about.

Today was the deadline to sign the loyalty oath, and only one network did. All the others refused to sign. The television news networks put out a joint statement saying:

Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon's new requirements, which would restrict journalists' ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues. The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.

The Pentagon Press Association put out their own strongly-worded statement (emphasis in original):

When Secretary Hegseth came into office, Pentagon officials pledged to make this "the most transparent Department of Defense in history." Since then, we have seen an inordinate amount of time spent systematically limiting access to information about the U.S. military -- information vital to members of the military, their families, all American taxpayers, and the general public.

This effort has culminated in an ultimatum to members of the Pentagon press corps: surrender your press pass or sign a document acknowledging vague new policies that, on their face, appear to violate the First Amendment.

This Wednesday, most Pentagon Press Association members seem likely to hand over their badges rather than acknowledge a policy that gags Pentagon employees and threatens retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not be pre-approved for release.

Our members did nothing to create this disturbing situation. It arises from an entirely one-sided move by Pentagon officials apparently intent upon cutting the American public off from information they do not control and pre-approve -- information concerning such issues and sexual assault in the military, conflicts of interest, corruption, or waste or fraud in billion-dollar programs. Reporting by the Pentagon press corps involves issues that matter not just to the public, but also to the well-being of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Guardians who protect America on a daily basis. Their potential expulsion from the Pentagon should be a concern to all.

. . .

There is no need or justification for [the Pentagon] to require reporters to affirm their understanding of vague, likely unconstitutional policies as a precondition to reporting from Pentagon facilities. The Pentagon's required acknowledgment is particularly problematic because it demands reporters to express an "understanding" that harm inevitably flows from the disclosure of unauthorized information, classified or not -- something everyone involved knows to be untrue.

Individual press outlets put out their own stories and statements, such as this from HuffPost:

The Department of Defense has a budget of more than $800 billion. It is capable of unleashing lethal force anywhere in the world. Its actions and policies are of great consequence to every American. It is vital that such a powerful force be subject to aggressive, fair, independent reporting, no matter who is in charge.

Individual reporters chimed in, such as Nancy Youssef of The Atlantic, who pointed out:

Starting Wednesday, for the first time since the Pentagon opened in 1943, there will be likely no major news outlets accredited to cover the [department], the one spending nearly $1 trillion of taxpayer money.

As I said, standing up to power in such fashion is highly commendable right now, since the corporate owners of such media outlets have not previously shown such backbone against what Trump and his cronies are doing to stifle the press. Maybe it will even force Hegseth to back down. Starting tomorrow, there will be just one lone reporter from a far-right media outlet in the Pentagon. What's truly notable is that Hegseth himself used to be a Fox News personality -- so you'd think he'd be more sensitive to the job reporters are supposed to do. But after they uncovered story after story of his own incompetence and the chaos in his office, Hegseth decided to react in petulant fashion:

On Tuesday, the mood at the Pentagon press facilities was grim, according to credentialed journalists who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak. Journalists emptied out their desks of items that in some cases had been accrued over decades. Networks picked up broadcasting equipment to lug back to their bureaus. Through it all, there was an air of sadness but also resilience, people said. "Everyone is united but disappointed that it's come to this," one reporter said.

"Most reporters just feel determined to keep doing their jobs," another said. "It'll make it harder for sure. But I think everyone understands this is about a defense secretary who is actually quite thin-skinned."

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant