{"id":4289,"date":"2026-08-22T04:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T04:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=4289"},"modified":"2026-08-22T04:37:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T04:37:44","slug":"pentagon-dismisses-stars-and-stripes-leadership-after-editor-reporter-oppose-military-interference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=4289","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon dismisses Stars and Stripes leadership after editor, reporter oppose military interference"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Pentagon on Friday fired the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes and a top reporter for insubordination after they spoke publicly against any interference by the Defense Department in the military news outlet that has a long history of editorial independence. It was the latest move by an administration that has grown increasingly aggressive toward the news media.<\/p>\n

Read more Canadian prime minister suspends trade talks with U.S., setting new 50% tariffs in motion<\/a><\/p>\n

The newspaper\u2019s publisher, who announced his impending retirement days ago, was also dismissed.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Erik Slavin, editor in chief of the military newspaper that is partly funded by the Pentagon, told The Associated Press he was dismissed for insubordination after an interview he gave that objected to potential censorship by the U.S. military. He received a notice of separation, as did publisher Max Lederer \u2014 who had just announced his upcoming retirement \u2014 and Middle East reporter Lara Korte, Slavin said.<\/p>\n

The moves come at a time when the Trump administration, in its second term, has been progressively combative toward the media \u2014 including sharply curtailing Pentagon access for the press corps that covers the Defense Department. Trump or other parts of the executive branch have also, in policy and in the courts, grappled with The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press and The New York Times \u2014 in addition to using the FCC to target broadcast networks.<\/p>\n

Slavin said he was being fired \u201cfor stating in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line.\u201d Korte participated in the same interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department\u2019s own policies,\u201d Slavin said.<\/p>\n

Media leaders are troubled<\/h2>\n

National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. called the firing of Slavin \u201canother brazen attempt by the Pentagon to dictate coverage of the military\u201d and said it should be immediately reversed.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cFiring a newspaper editor after he publicly defended his newsroom\u2019s editorial independence is deeply troubling, and it should concern every journalist and every member of the U.S. military who depends on independent reporting,\u201d Schoeff said.<\/p>\n

Neither Lederer nor Korte immediately responded to emailed requests for comment. Korte said on X: \u201cToday, 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 \u2014 not the Pentagon, not the administration, and not any policy maker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, longtime publisher Lederer announced his retirement effective at the end of September. He made his announcement a few weeks after the Pentagon installed a new deputy publisher, an active-duty service member, under him at the newspaper without his prior knowledge. Three Democratic senators on Thursday wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asking why the new deputy \u2014 Navy Capt. William Urban \u2014 had been installed.<\/p>\n

The retirement of Lederer, who had been at Stars and Stripes for three decades and publisher since 2007, comes as Hegseth\u2019s Pentagon has moved to exert editorial control and eliminate what it asserts are \u201cwoke distractions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cStars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,\u201d Sean Parnell, Hegseth\u2019s spokesman, wrote in January on X. \u201cIt will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

In April, the Pentagon fired Jacqueline Smith, ombudsman for the newspaper, whose job had been to safeguard editorial independence.<\/p>\n

Lederer, the second full-time civilian in the position, wrote in a staff memo this week that it had \u201cbecome 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newly installed Pentagon leader outlines his plan<\/h2>\n

In a letter posted on Stars and Stripes, Urban wrote of his plans and said: \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

It was unclear whether Urban, currently titled \u201cmilitary deputy to the publisher,\u201d would now become head publisher. \u201cI can\u2019t comment on what my role will be in the future,\u201d he told the AP.<\/p>\n

In a telephone interview, Urban said Stars and Stripes has \u201ca strong team of professional journalists that are focused on the mission of providing our military service members and their families the best possible product. That mission is going to continue. All of us in leadership will continue to advocate for \u2026 the best possible journalism going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

He said he had no formal journalism experience but cited his years in public affairs and communications. He said he would be focused on expanding digital journalism at the paper, because the service members to which it caters are often young and are \u201cdigital natives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to get better on the digital side,\u201d he said, \u201cto make sure that we are reaching as many service members as we possibly can and having the impact that we should be having.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more China is about to launch an ambitious moon mission to hunt for ice in one of the solar system\u2019s coldest places<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pentagon on Friday fired the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes and a top reporter for insubordination after they spoke publicly against any interference by the Defense Department in the military news outlet that has a long history of editorial independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trump-administration"],"yoast_head":"\nPentagon dismisses Stars and Stripes leadership after editor, reporter oppose military interference - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=4289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pentagon dismisses Stars and Stripes leadership after editor, reporter oppose military interference - 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