Gabrielle Cuccia of One America News Network (OANN) provoked anger on social media. Her latest Substack post, “The Secretary of Defense-ive,” is attracting outrage and for good reason. Three days after Kristine Hegseth, a Pentagon official, instituted new restrictions on reporters’ access to wide swaths of the Pentagon, the post erupted into fierce backlash. This backlash led to serious consequences for Cuccia.
In her Substack post, Cuccia ripped Hegseth for not being man enough to call a press conference at the Pentagon. Cuccia proudly calls herself “a MAGA girl” and fiercely supports former President Donald Trump. She warned that her own branch of the military, the Pentagon’s lack of transparency and unwillingness to comply was eroding the public’s trust. Her post blew up and was allegedly “put on their radar” by an unknown whistleblower, insiders within OANN say.
Cuccia revealed that Hegseth’s team reached out to her in advance of the post. They seemed eager to find out what questions she intended to pose in a much-anticipated public briefing. Cuccia was given a workspace that had previously been used by NBC News. Just three days after her Memorial Day posting, her access to the Pentagon was abruptly cut off.
“When a reporter asks inconvenient questions about government overreach, the response should be accountability — not silence, and certainly not separation,” – Gabrielle Cuccia
Cuccia’s Substack piece really evoked the energy of those early Make America Great Again days. He looked back on the enthusiasm and electric energy that pervaded the air in those days. She articulated her frustration with how dissenters within the movement are perceived, stating, “Somewhere along the way, we as a collective decided — if anyone ever questioned a policy or person within the MAGA movement — that they weren’t MAGA enough.”
Her remarks did not stop there. Cuccia countered by saying that Hegseth’s own staff and other top officials were the ones responsible for actual leaks from the Pentagon. She concluded by reiterating how misleading the narrative that the Pentagon was pushing truly was.
“The Pentagon wants to paint a picture that journalists are freely roaming classified spaces, sneaking into (secure areas), and leaking top-secret information,” – Gabrielle Cuccia
The aftermath from her Substack post was immediate. By Friday, Cuccia was out of a job, as OANN tried to distance itself from her incendiary comments. The ongoing fiasco has sparked calls to restore media freedom and end the practice of government communications that are secretive by nature.
Journalism professor Tom Rosenstiel observed that there’s a tendency to make exceptions, especially when it comes to access to the media. Cuccia’s experience brings to the fore a number of important issues. It raises much larger questions about the treatment of journalists in one of the most sensitive environments—the Pentagon.
David Bauder covers the media and entertainment industries for the Associated Press. Specifically, he stressed the personal and professional toll her criticisms would take on her career. He touched on their impact on the perception of media relations within government agencies.
Cuccia’s provocation in calling out Hegseth in this way has ignited a storm of debate and discussion with her fellow educators. One anonymous commentator asked, “Are they silent, or do they rally to her in any way?” This question highlights the contradiction at the heart of the media establishment’s debate over journalist loyalty to political parties versus commitment to journalism.
