Washington DC [US], August 22 (ANI): In what critics are calling a return to heavy-handed US Department of War suppression tactics, the Pentagon fired the publisher, editor-in-chief, and a Middle East correspondent of Stars and Stripes on Friday, the New York Times reported, citing senior Pentagon official and the dismissed journalists.
The purge marks the latest effort by the Defence Department to curb the government-funded military newspaper’s statutory editorial independence amid the ongoing war in Iran.
The terminations follow a series of investigative reports by the outlet highlighting severe hardships among service members, including an extended nine-month deployment for Navy sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the New York Times reported.
Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, Publisher Max Lederer, and Middle East Correspondent Lara Korte were all served termination notices on Friday. The Department of War declined to comment on the firings.
Slavin stated his notice cited insubordination following a July CBS News interview regarding editorial interference. Slavin had publicly asserted that turning the outlet into a public relations mouthpiece would cross a line, standing by the requirement for independent reporting.
The firings build on months of escalating restrictions. In January, the Pentagon rescinded long-standing regulations guaranteeing free news flow, with chief spokesman Sean Parnell demanding the paper shift away from “woke distractions,” the New York Times reported
By March, a Pentagon memo banned AP wire reprints and comics, mandating content align with “good order and discipline,” the New York Times reported
In April, internal editorial ombudsman Jacqueline Smith was fired after criticising agency interference, a move that has since sparked a First Amendment lawsuit against the department.
Captain William Urban, a former senior Pentagon spokesman recently appointed as military deputy to the publisher, published a letter on Friday asserting his commitment to “editorially independent reporting.” However, the installation of military spokespeople alongside the systematic removal of veteran newsroom leadership signals a stark shift toward direct news management. (ANI)