Pentagon dismisses Stars and Stripes leadership after editor, reporter oppose military interference

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.

The newspaper’s publisher, who announced his impending retirement days ago, was also dismissed.

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 — who had just announced his upcoming retirement — and Middle East reporter Lara Korte, Slavin said.

The moves come at a time when the Trump administration, in its second term, has been progressively combative toward the media — 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 — in addition to using the FCC to target broadcast networks.

Slavin 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 participated in the same interview.

“I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies,” Slavin said.

Media leaders are troubled

National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. called the firing of Slavin “another brazen attempt by the Pentagon to dictate coverage of the military” and said it should be immediately reversed.

“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,” Schoeff said.

Neither Lederer nor Korte immediately responded to emailed requests for comment. Korte said 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, 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 — Navy Capt. William Urban — had been installed.

The retirement of Lederer, who had been at Stars and Stripes for three decades and publisher since 2007, comes as Hegseth’s Pentagon has moved to exert editorial control and eliminate what it asserts are “woke distractions.”

“Stars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,” Sean Parnell, Hegseth’s spokesman, wrote in January on X. “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 fired Jacqueline Smith, ombudsman for the newspaper, whose job had been to safeguard editorial independence.

Lederer, the second full-time civilian in the position, wrote in a staff memo this week 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.”

Newly installed Pentagon leader outlines his plan

In a letter posted on Stars and Stripes, Urban wrote of his plans and said: “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.”

“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,” he wrote.

It was unclear whether Urban, currently titled “military deputy to the publisher,” would now become head publisher. “I can’t comment on what my role will be in the future,” he told the AP.

In a telephone interview, Urban said Stars and Stripes has “a 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 … the best possible journalism going forward.”

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 “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.”