Pentagon Firings Intensify Stars and Stripes Press Freedom Fight

The Pentagon has fired Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes, and Lara Korte, its Middle East reporter. Publisher Max Lederer, who had already announced plans to retire in September, also received a separation notice. Slavin said the dismissals followed the newspaper leadership’s public defense of its editorial independence, which is protected by law and Pentagon policy. He believes he was terminated after saying in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line. The staffing changes come amid growing tensions between Stars and Stripes and the administration of President Donald Trump. The newspaper recently reported on deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, including sailors’ suicidal ideation and attempted overboard jumps during the carrier’s unusually long deployment. The administration dismissed the coverage as exaggerated and dishonest. Pressure on the publication had been building for months. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in January that the department intended to return Stars and Stripes to what it called its original mission by focusing on military subjects and removing what he described as woke distractions. The newspaper’s ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, was later fired, while Navy Captain William Urban was appointed deputy publisher without, reportedly, Lederer’s prior knowledge. Lederer subsequently resigned, citing fundamental differences with the Defense Department’s direction. Urban has promised modernization while praising the newspaper’s historical role. Press freedom advocates and Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, and Jeanne Shaheen have expressed concern that the changes could compromise independent reporting. The Society of Professional Journalists warned that service members and their families need journalism serving their interests rather than those of the Pentagon.

The Pentagon has fired three senior employees of Stars and Stripes—Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, Publisher Max Lederer and Middle East reporter Lara Korte—for alleged insubordination after they publicly defended the newspaper’s editorial independence. Stars and Stripes, which has published since World War II, is partially funded by the Defense Department but has historically operated independently and is widely read by US military personnel stationed around the world. Slavin said his dismissal followed a CBS interview in which he stated that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would be a personal red line. Korte said she was fired after telling CBS that she worked for Stars and Stripes—not the Pentagon, the administration or any policymaker. She called the dismissals harmful to the institution and to service members who had sworn to defend the Constitution and deserved access to a free press. Lederer, who had been publisher since 2007 and planned to retire in September, previously said the Pentagon had developed a new vision for the paper that differed from his own. Tensions increased after the Defense Department installed Navy Captain William Urban as the paper’s deputy editor without Lederer’s prior knowledge. The firings come amid broader tensions between the Pentagon and the media under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has sharply criticized journalists and restricted press access to the department since taking office in 2025. Hegseth’s spokesman, Sean Parnell, said Stars and Stripes should be tailored to the needs of “warfighters” and focus on military subjects rather than political commentary or wire-service material. National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. condemned Slavin’s firing as an attempt to dictate military coverage and called for it to be reversed. The incident has intensified concerns about press freedom, editorial independence and the Pentagon’s influence over a publication serving US troops.

The Pentagon has dismissed the editor-in-chief and publisher of Stars and Stripes, the US military newspaper, after both became publicly associated with disputes over the Department of Defence’s efforts to influence the publication’s coverage. Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin told CBS News that he was being fired for “insubordination” after discussing disagreements with the department. Publisher Max Lederer, who had announced his retirement only three days earlier, was also notified that he was being terminated. Stars and Stripes reporter Lara Korte said she was fired for telling CBS that she worked for the newspaper rather than the Pentagon, an administration or any policymaker. The dismissals followed the newspaper’s reporting on poor conditions for crew members aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The report generated renewed criticism of President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran. The carrier had been deployed before the Middle East war began in February, and the military had recently announced that a new carrier strike group had arrived in the region. The article describes the firings as part of a wider struggle over the publication’s editorial independence. Although Stars and Stripes receives partial funding from the Department of Defence, it has traditionally maintained editorial autonomy. Slavin had previously spoken publicly against Pentagon interference, saying that being instructed to run a Pentagon-written story instead of an accurate one would cross a red line. Lederer said his decision to retire reflected fundamental differences between his understanding of the newspaper’s mission and the Pentagon’s plans for the organisation. Concerns about independence had intensified after active-duty US Navy Captain William Urban was installed as military deputy to the publisher, a move viewed by Democratic lawmakers and others as weakening the publication’s autonomy. The article also places the events within Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s broader criticism of the media since taking office in 2025.