Pentagon Firing Military Newspaper Editor Raises First Amendment Question
Newsweek · C · trust 52/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Pentagon has been accused of attempting to stifle free speech after a fired editor for military newspaper Stars and Stripes said he was ousted after objecting to censorship.
The newspaper is an important source of military news and has a long history of editorial independence from the Pentagon, which does provide funding for the outlet. In fact, Congress mandated its editorial independence in 1991, when it created an ombudsman position to ensure its reporting remained independent from Pentagon leadership.
But earlier this year, the Pentagon fired the ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, fueling concerns about the future of the newspaper’s independence.
The moves from President Donald Trump’s administration have sparked similar questions about whether the outlet will remain independent from military leadership and broader questions about free speech and freedom of the press.
“People should be outraged,” Will Creely, legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), told Newsweek on Friday. “As we continue to see these attacks on the press, we risk losing our American exceptionalism when it comes to protecting free speech, the free press and free minds.”
On Friday, newspaper Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin told CBS News he was fired over an interview he gave with the news network in July in which he said “that censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line.”
“The Pentagon's public affairs office has charged me with insubordination," Slavin told the news outlet. "I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department's own policies."
Meanwhile, Lara Korte, a reporter for the newspaper, wrote in a post to X that she was also fired for insubordination after telling a CBS News reporter that she worked “for Stars and Stripes – not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policy maker.”
In her post, she called attention to the concerns around free speech.
“I consider it a great privilege to live alongside members of the military and share their stories. It’s 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 wrote.
Earlier this week, longtime Stars and Stripes publisher Max D. Lederer Jr. announced his retirement, citing differences with Pentagon leadership.
He wrote in a memo to staff 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.”
Newsweek has reached out to Slavin via his LinkedIn page on Friday afternoon for comment.
Creely of FIRE also told Newsweek that the firings are “just the latest attack from this administration on our free speech.”
“The First Amendment protects freedom of the press for a reason. This administration time and again has gone after our independent and free press for reporting that they don’t like, for views that they would rather not hear and for trying to keep the public informed,” he said. “That hostility to our free speech has included a string of attacks on the Stars and Stripes , which is congressionally mandated since 1991 to be governed by First Amendment principles.”
The First Amendment should make it “clear” to Pentagon leadership that it cannot reconcile the freedom of the press guaranteed in the Constitution with “trying to shut down editorial independence,” Creely added.
“Our brave men and women in the armed forces take an oath to protect and defend our Constitution. They can handle a free and independent press. In fact, they deserve it. Stars and Stripes has long enjoyed editorial independence. It should retain that editorial independence to stay true to the constitutional values our servicemembers take an oath to defend,” he said.
Others have also assailed the Pentagon, accusing it of attempting to control the narrative. “They lie about the progress of the war. They lie about the conditions of the troops. They suppress independent reporting. Welcome to Trump's and Hegseth's military,” conservative writer Bill Kristol posted to X.
Journalist Caitlin Doornbos wrote in a post to X that she is “at a loss for words” over the firings. “Stars and Stripes is editorially independent by law. This shouldn’t be happening,” she wrote.
Brian Stelter, also a journalist, described the latest firing as a “blow to press freedoms within the US military,” in a post to X.
On Friday, Navy Captain William Urban, the new military deputy to the publisher of Stars and Stripes, penned an open letter to “stakeholders.”
“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,” he wrote.
Urban added that he was “excited” to work with Lederer and planned to discuss modernization efforts with him, and sent him a memo this week, before Lederer's retirement announcement. Urban said his vision for the newspaper is to get “more eyeballs” on its content and have “more impact on our service members while maintaining the highest standard of professional journalism with the credibility that comes with editorial independence.”
A Pentagon spokesperson pointed to the letter when reached by Newsweek for comment on Friday.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins .
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