Pentagon sacks Stars and Stripes editor over editorial independence row

The Pentagon dismissed Stars and Stripes editor Erik Slavin, reporter Lara Korte and publisher Max Lederer after a public defence of the paper's editorial independence. The move has intensified concerns that the Defence Department is trying to tighten control over military journalism.

In Short

• The move adds to the Trump administration’s widening confrontation with major media
• Slavin said a CBS interview about censorship triggered his dismissal
• Democratic senators questioned why a Navy officer was inserted into leadership

The Pentagon on Friday dismissed Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte for insubordination after they spoke publicly against any interference by the Defence Department in the military news outlet, which has a long record of editorial independence. The newspaper's publisher, Max Lederer, who had announced his retirement days earlier, was also removed.

The action comes as President Donald Trump's second-term administration has taken an increasingly combative approach towards the media. That has included sharply reducing Pentagon access for the press corps covering the Defence Department, while also clashing through policy and the courts with The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press and The New York Times, and using the FCC to target broadcast networks.

Slavin told The Associated Press that he was dismissed after giving an interview in which he objected to possible censorship by the US military. He said he was being fired "for stating in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line". Korte took part in the same interview. Slavin added: "I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department's own policies." He said he had received a notice of separation, as had Lederer and Korte.

The move drew criticism from media leaders. National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. called Slavin's dismissal "another brazen attempt by the Pentagon to dictate coverage of the military" and said it should be reversed immediately. He said: "Firing a newspaper editor after he publicly defended his newsroom's editorial independence is deeply troubling, and it should concern every journalist and every member of the U.S. military who depends on independent reporting." Neither Lederer nor Korte immediately responded to emailed requests for comment, but Korte wrote on X: "Today, I was informed that the Department of Defense is firing me for insubordination after I told a CBS reporter that I work for Stars and Stripes - not the Pentagon, not the administration, and not any policy maker."

Earlier this week, Lederer announced that he would retire at the end of September. His announcement came weeks after the Pentagon placed a new deputy publisher, active-duty service member Navy Capt. William Urban, under him at the newspaper without informing him in advance. On Thursday, three Democratic senators wrote to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth asking why Urban had been installed. Lederer, who had spent three decades at Stars and Stripes and had been publisher since 2007, wrote in a staff memo that it had "become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organization."

The changes come as Hegseth's Pentagon has moved to assert editorial control and remove what it has described as "woke distractions". In January, Hegseth's spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on X: "Stars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters. It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints." In April, the Pentagon also dismissed Jacqueline Smith, the newspaper's ombudsman, whose role was to protect editorial independence.

Urban later posted a letter on Stars and Stripes outlining his plans. He wrote: "I understand that I am now part of a team, committed to editorially independent journalism that best serves our most important customer, which is our service members, their families, and our greater military community." He also wrote: "I am a media junkie who has served as a communication professional engaged in being a spokesman for some of the hardest Public Affairs assignments in the Navy and Department of War for more than 20 years." It was not clear whether Urban, now titled military deputy to the publisher, would take over as publisher. He told AP: "I can't comment on what my role will be in the future." In a telephone interview, he said Stars and Stripes has "a strong team of professional journalists" focused on serving military personnel and their families, and said leadership would continue to support "the best possible journalism going forward".

Urban said he had no formal journalism experience but pointed to his years in public affairs and communications. He said his focus would be on expanding the paper's digital journalism because many service members are young and are "digital natives". "I think we need to get better on the digital side," he said, "to make sure that we are reaching as many service members as we possibly can and having the impact that we should be having." The dismissals of Slavin, Korte and Lederer mark the latest upheaval at Stars and Stripes as the Pentagon and the newspaper's leadership clash over its direction and editorial independence.

With PTI Inputs

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