This study looks at national security news by examining the small band of reporters who are considered the Pentagon press corps. It introduces those who regularly cover military stories. It presents reporters largely as they see themselves, in the context of their working environment. It tells us what they say about their work, their colleagues, their organizations, and their sources. As a result, the study tilts toward being an occasionally sympathetic examination of why reporters do what they do-especially why they do things that often irritate leaders in the Defense Establishment. After a brief overview of the historical roots of reporting about national defense, the following pages are organized by media categories Wire services, daily newspaper news services, weekly news magazines technical and policy publications television and broadcasting. The final section focuses on Pentagon correspondents as a group, and includes some general observations for those who want to understand defense news coverage better, or to become better communicators themselves.