Pentagon Fires Stars and Stripes Editor, Publisher
Pentagon Fires Stars and Stripes Editor, Publisher
The News
The Pentagon moved Friday to fire the publisher, the editor-in-chief and a reporter at Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper partly funded by American taxpayers, citing insubordination.
Publisher Max Lederer and Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin were given five days to appeal, according to CBS News, which first reported the dismissals of the two men. Middle East reporter Lara Korte said she also received a notice.
Slavin told The Associated Press he was fired "for stating in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line."
Timeline
Slavin and Korte appear in a "CBS Sunday Morning" story about the fight over Stars and Stripes. Asked about his red lines, Slavin says: "'Don't run a perfectly accurate story, run this instead. Here it is, written by the Pentagon.' That would be a red line." Korte says in the same piece: "I'm working for Stars and Stripes. Not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker."
The Pentagon fires Jacqueline Smith, the newspaper's ombudsman, whose job was to safeguard editorial independence.
The Pentagon installs Navy Capt. William Urban as a new deputy publisher, an active-duty service member placed under Lederer without Lederer's prior knowledge.
Stars and Stripes, along with the Military Times, reports that families of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln were worried about their loved ones' mental health and risk of self-harm. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump downplayed or denied the reports. The carrier left the Middle East this week after a nine-month deployment.
Lederer tells colleagues he will retire Sept. 30, citing fundamental differences with the administration.
CBS News reports that Pentagon officials had discussed dismissing Lederer before his scheduled retirement date.
Three Democratic senators write to Hegseth asking why Urban was installed at the paper.
Separation notices are delivered to Lederer, Slavin and Korte.
Reactions
Slavin said he would respond through the required process. "The Pentagon's public affairs office has charged me with insubordination," he said in a statement to CBS News. "I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department's own policies."
Korte called the firings "a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press." She added: "I'm proud of the work my colleagues and I do at Stars and Stripes, especially the last six months covering the protracted conflict in Iran."
Lederer, in a staff note obtained by CBS News, wrote that "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." He said he would "do everything I can to make sure the transition is smooth for each of you."
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has publicly talked about "bringing Stars and Stripes into the 21st century" and refocusing its content "away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members."
A Defense Department spokesman declined to comment when contacted Friday afternoon by CBS News.
What's Next
Lederer and Slavin have five days to appeal their dismissals, per CBS News. Lederer's retirement had been set for Sept. 30.
Who runs the paper next is unsettled. Asked by the AP whether he would become publisher, Urban said: "I am currently the Military Deputy to the Publisher. I can't comment on what my role will be in the future."
The three Democratic senators' letter to Hegseth about Urban's installation is outstanding, and no Pentagon statement has addressed the specific firings.
More
Lederer has been at Stars and Stripes for three decades and has been its publisher since 2007 — 19 years — making him the second full-time civilian to hold the job.
Roughly half of the paper's $29 million annual budget comes from taxpayers, a person familiar with its operations told CBS News. Readership has fallen from its peaks during World War II, the Cold War and Vietnam, according to two U.S. officials, but an average of 1.4 million people see Stars and Stripes each day, and overseas print editions still reach troops in places where internet access is spotty.
The firings land as the Trump administration takes a more combative posture toward the press, including sharply curtailing Pentagon access for the reporters who cover the Defense Department, the AP reported.
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