Pentagon Fires Stars and Stripes Leadership After Editor Cites Censorship Concerns

The editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military's longstanding newspaper, said Friday he was fired for insubordination after publicly stating that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would cross a personal line — a dismissal that comes amid broader tensions between the Pentagon and the press.

"According to the notice, I am being fired for stating in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a personal red line," editor-in-chief Erik Slavin said in a statement.

A source familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed to Reuters that the Pentagon had sent termination notices to the paper's leadership. Among those let go was Max Lederer, the newspaper's long-time publisher, who had been set to retire at the end of September.

In an email earlier this week announcing his retirement, Lederer wrote that it was clear the Pentagon had a new vision for the newspaper that differed from his own.

Reporter Lara Korte, who covered the Middle East for the outlet, said on social media Friday that she had also been fired — because she told CBS News that she works for Stars and Stripes and not the Pentagon.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stars and Stripes has published continuously since World War Two, providing news to U.S. troops stationed around the world. The newspaper receives funding from the Defense Department but has historically operated with editorial independence from it.

The Pentagon recently appointed a military deputy to the publisher's role at the newspaper. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X, quoting from an open letter that military deputy had written.

"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.

Press freedom advocates have criticized a series of policy changes under the Trump administration that have restricted journalists' access to the Pentagon, arguing those measures suppress freedom of speech.

In his first administration, President Donald Trump reversed a Pentagon decision to shut down the newspaper entirely — a point that supporters of the publication have cited as part of its complicated relationship with the executive branch.

The firings signal a deepening struggle over editorial control at one of the few news organizations explicitly funded by the U.S. military, with the outcome likely to shape how — and how freely — journalists embedded with or covering the armed forces are able to operate going forward.