Pentagon fires US military newspaper leadership after clash over editorial independence

The Pentagon fired the editor-in-chief, publisher and a reporter of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper on Friday after they publicly objected to Defense Department interference.

Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin said he was fired for insubordination over remarks he made on CBS about censorship. Reuters confirmed the Pentagon sent termination notices to the paper's leadership.

Why did the Pentagon fire Stars and Stripes leadership?

The Pentagon fired editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and reporter Lara Korte after they spoke publicly against Defense Department efforts to influence the newspaper's editorial content.

Slavin said his notice cited insubordination for stating in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would be a personal red line. Korte said she was fired for telling CBS News she works for Stars and Stripes, not the Pentagon.

What did Stars and Stripes staff say about the firings?

In an email to staff seen by Reuters, Europe and Middle East bureau chief William Gallo confirmed that Slavin, Lederer and another reporter had received termination notices. "We all have questions about what things will look like moving forward. I am still here, and you are still here. And we will continue to do independent journalism, in accordance with our legal mandate," Gallo wrote.

Lederer had been set to retire at the end of September. In his retirement email this week, he wrote that it was clear the Pentagon had a new vision for the newspaper, different from his own. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What is Stars and Stripes and why does its independence matter?

Stars and Stripes has published continuously since World War Two and provides news to US troops around the world. It receives funding from the Defense Department but has historically been editorially independent. Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has sought greater control over the newspaper's content and direction.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said earlier this year that the department would modernise its operations and refocus content away from what he called "woke distractions that siphon morale," adapting the paper to serve a new generation of service members. The Pentagon recently appointed a military deputy to the publisher role at the newspaper.

How has the Pentagon defended the changes?

In a post on X on Friday, Parnell quoted an open letter from the newly appointed military deputy. "We may never be able to have the same impact for our service members digitally that our paper had during World War II in a vastly different media environment, but I also believe that we can do better, that we must do better for our most important constituency, the men and women who make up the U.S. Armed Forces," the letter said.

In his first administration, President Donald Trump reversed an earlier Pentagon decision to shut down the newspaper altogether. Press freedom advocates have criticised broader policy changes under the Trump administration that have limited journalists' access to the Pentagon, saying they suppress freedom of speech.