Under the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has tried more than once to impose restrictions on the free press. So far, those efforts have failed in court, but there’s one news outlet where the Defense Department has had more success.

The Pentagon on Friday fired the publisher and the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper funded by the Department of Defense, outgoing editor in chief Erik Slavin told The Washington Post. Publisher Max Lederer, who’d spent more than 30 years at Stars and Stripes, was sent a separation notice, the Post reported. Slavin said he and reporter Lara Korte also received notices.

Lederer announced this week that he was stepping away after nearly two decades as publisher, and in an email to staffers, he explained, “It has 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.”

The Pentagon decided to fire him soon after.

The apparent tipping point for Lederer was the Pentagon’s decision to impose William Urban, an active-duty Navy captain and public affairs officer, to serve as the publisher’s deputy — a decision that was made without Lederer’s approval or consultation, and despite the legendary paper’s tradition of civilian leadership.

Slavin, the paper’s editor in chief, told the Post that he and Korte, the reporter, were fired after participating in a CBS News interview, during which he said censorship of the military newspaper crossed a red line.

“Pentagon public affairs has deemed that insubordination,” Slavin said told the Post.

The latest firings come on the heels of Hegseth’s Pentagon also firing Jacqueline Smith, the paper’s ombudsman. (As has been the case with many recent Defense Department firings, Smith was given no reason for her dismissal. In June, she filed suit, challenging her ouster in court.) Though the outlet has long operated as with editorial independence, it’s partly funded by the Defense Department, which made the firings possible.

As many service members and veterans likely know, Stars and Stripes is a military newspaper with a generations-old pedigree, which has long described itself as the “U.S. military’s independent news source.”

The word “independent” was — and remains — key. Though it covers the military, Stars and Stripes has long enjoyed the same kind of freedom of civilian newspapers, even if that means publishing reports the Pentagon doesn’t always like. By design, it is not a propaganda outlet.

At least, that is, it wasn’t a propaganda outlet. To ensure it publishes only news reports in line with the administration’s preferred messages, Trump appointees at the Defense Department announced in January that they would commandeer the newspaper. By gutting Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence, the Pentagon could “refocus its content away from woke distractions,” as one of Hegseth’s top deputies put it at the time.

The Post reported soon after that those seeking open positions at Stars and Stripes were asked how they would advance Trump’s “policy priorities” in the role.

In March, the newspaper’s ombudsman spoke out against the moves, explaining that the administration’s actions were to “the detriment of the troops who rely on the newspaper for complete coverage and continued accurate coverage that is not propaganda.”

Since propaganda is apparently the goal, Smith was ousted soon after. Now, Stars and Stripes’ publisher and editor are out, too.

This has not gone unnoticed on Capitol Hill. Indeed, as The New Republic reported, three Democratic senators — Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — wrote to Hegseth this week to express their dissatisfaction.

“The placement of an active-duty Public Affairs officer in the senior leadership of an organization whose credibility depends on its independence from the military chain of command raises serious questions,” the senators wrote. The Democrats added, “For generations, American service members, particularly those stationed overseas and in combat zones, have relied on Stars and Stripes for credible and independent news. At this critical moment of leadership transition, that independence must not be compromised. We urge you to preserve that independence and provide prompt answers regarding these latest developments.”

The senators directed Hegseth to respond by Aug. 28, demanding a “detailed explanation” as to why he appointed an active-duty officer to oversee the outlet. Watch this space.

This post, which has been revised to reflect Friday afternoon’s developments, updates our related earlier coverage.

The post Hegseth’s Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes newspaper’s publisher and editor appeared first on MS NOW.

Author: Source Author

From MS Now.