“They fired the editor of the Stars and Stripes, an independent newspaper that’s been around since 1861.
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The Pentagon Fires the Publisher, Editor-in-Chief and a Reporter of Stars and Stripes for "Insubordination" — the Editor Says It Was for Saying on CBS That Censoring the Troops’ Newspaper Would Be a Red Line
August 22, 2026
On Friday, August 21, 2026, the Pentagon issued separation notices to three people at Stars and Stripes: publisher Max Lederer, who had held the job for 19 years; editor-in-chief Erik Slavin; and Middle East reporter Lara Korte. The stated cause was insubordination. Slavin said he was told his dismissal was tied to a "CBS Sunday Morning" segment that aired in July, in which he was asked a hypothetical about censorship of news for service members and answered that it would be a red line. Stars and Stripes is partially funded by the Defense Department but has operated with statutory editorial independence since the Civil War era. The firings capped a months-long sequence: a March memo tightening the department's oversight of the newsroom and imposing content restrictions; the April termination of the paper's ombudsman, a post Congress created specifically to protect its independence; and, this month, the installation of an active-duty Navy public affairs officer, Capt. William Urban, as a "military deputy" to the publisher — reportedly without consulting Lederer, who announced his retirement days later. Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell was unapologetic, saying the department would "refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale" and that the paper would be "custom tailored to our warfighters." Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called the firings "political interference and intimidation" and said he would seek Senate Armed Services Committee hearings and changes in the National Defense Authorization Act. The day before the firings, Blumenthal, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) had written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers by August 28 about the Urban appointment and Lederer's departure. The firings followed Stars and Stripes reporting on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its record 250-day deployment — coverage that is itself the subject of a separate Senate inquiry.
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“He’s pushed out journalists. He’s pushed out media. This is part of his effort to create fear and to clamp down on information.
“The lawsuit is without merit, and the Department expects to prevail.
“These firings are political interference and intimidation. This shameless censorship will only continue to erode veteran and servicemember credibility and trust in the newspaper, whose independence is essential.
“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members. Stars & Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters. It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.
“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 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.
“For generations, American servicemembers, particularly those stationed overseas and in combat zones, have relied on Stars and Stripes for credible and independent news. That trust depends on preserving a clear separation between independent journalism and the Department’s public affairs apparatus. At this critical moment of leadership transition, that independence must not be compromised.