Pentagon fires military newspaper leadership for 'insubordination'
The editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes said he was fired, alongside the newspaper's publisher and a reporter, for insubordination after he objected to potential editorial interference.
The US Pentagon has dismissed the editor, publisher, and a reporter from the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, citing insubordination. Stars and Stripes, a publication dating back to World War II, is partially funded by the Defense Department but maintains editorial independence. Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, Publisher Max Lederer, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte were all fired following public objections to potential editorial interference.
Slavin stated that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would violate a personal red line. Lederer had announced his retirement from the position in September, expressing that the Pentagon had a new vision for the newspaper which contradicted his own. Korte responded to her firing on social media, stating that she was being dismissed for insubordination after declaring her allegiance to Stars and Stripes, not the Pentagon, administration, or any policy maker.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been vocal about his criticism of the media since taking office in 2025, including restricting press access to the Pentagon. Stars and Stripes is now being tailored to the needs of warfighters, focusing on military matters and excluding repurposed DC gossip columns and Associated Press reprints.
National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. condemned Slavin's firing as a brazen attempt by the Pentagon to dictate coverage, urging its immediate reversal.
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