Pentagon dismisses Stars & Stripes editor and reporter amid claims of retaliation
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The Department of Defense terminated Stars & Stripes editor Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte, citing internal decisions, while the editor alleges the firings were retaliation for defending the paper's editorial independence.
The Pentagon announced the separation of Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of the military newspaper Stars & Stripes, and its Middle East reporter Lara Korte on Friday. Slavin told the Associated Press that the notices were linked to the newspaper’s public statements defending its editorial independence.
"I stand by the principle that Stars & Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies," Slavin said.
Slavin said he was dismissed after mentioning in a CBS interview that any hypothetical censorship of news for service members would cross a "red line." The termination notices also included Max Lederer, the longtime publisher who had planned to retire at the end of September.
Stars & Stripes, which receives Pentagon funding but operates with editorial autonomy, has faced increasing pressure from the Defense Department. In January, a Pentagon spokesperson said the paper would be refocused on “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and all things military,” removing content deemed “woke distractions.”
Earlier this year, the newspaper’s ombudsman was dismissed and a Navy captain was appointed deputy publisher without the publisher’s prior knowledge. In response, the Society of Professional Journalists and three Democratic senators have expressed concern that the changes threaten the paper’s ability to report independently.
"Stars & Stripes cannot fulfill its mission if its journalists or newsroom leaders must worry that independent reporting could bring retaliation from the officials they cover," said SPJ president Chris Vaccaro.
The senators’ letter to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth urged clarification on what they described as a “degradation” of the newspaper’s independence.