{"id":1607,"date":"2026-08-22T18:35:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T18:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1607"},"modified":"2026-08-22T18:35:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T18:35:43","slug":"journalists-fired-from-military-newspaper-for-asserting-editorial-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1607","title":{"rendered":"Journalists Fired From Military Newspaper for Asserting Editorial Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Correspondent Lara Korte, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and publisher Max Lederer were all fired from their posts at Stars and Stripes on Friday, the latest attack on press freedom by President Donald Trump and members of his administration \u2014 this time targeting the paper that provides daily news to US servicemembers spread across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider it a great privilege to live alongside members of the military and share their stories,\u201d said Korte in a social media post following her ouster. \u201cIt\u2019s a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press.\u201d<\/p>\n

Korte said she was \u201cinformed that the Department of Defense is firing me for insubordination after I told a CBS reporter that I work for Stars and Stripes \u2014 not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policy maker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slavin explained that he and Korte were specifically fired over an interview they gave earlier this year with CBS News <\/em>in which they indicated their independence from the Pentagon and the White House and in which he said any effort to censor the news that military members receive would be resisted. Even though the military publication operates within the US Department of Defense, it has always enjoyed editorial independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department\u2019s own policies,\u201d he said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n

Press freedom advocates slammed the move by the DoD.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s firings are an ugly, un-American attack on our free press,\u201d said the free speech group Fire in a statement. \u201cAmerica\u2019s brave servicemembers swore an oath to defend the Constitution. They deserve the free and independent press our Founders fought for 250 years ago, not Pravda-style propaganda. The United States is uniquely committed to freedom of the press, and has been since our founding. Accepting censorship means losing our national identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking with the Associated Press<\/em>, Slavin said his firing for insubordination was for saying in the CBS<\/em> interview \u201cthat hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line\u201d for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be able to provide independent news to service members,\u201d he had told CBS<\/em> in July. \u201cIf we can\u2019t do that, if we were turned into something other than that, if we were public relations? Yeah, that\u2019s the foxhole.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to reporting by Stars and Stripes<\/em>, Lederer was also fired Friday, though he had announced his retirement earlier this week, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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In a letter to the outlet\u2019s staff, later posted online, Lederer explained, \u201cIt has become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of value and mission of the Stars & Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction of the leadership of the Department of Defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Replacing Lederer as the new publisher of Stars and Stripes<\/em> is Capt. William Urban, a longtime public relations officer and communications specialist inside the US military with no professional experience in the field of journalism.<\/p>\n

Urban previously served, as he explained in a memo to newspaper staff on Friday, as a \u201cspokesman for some of the hardest Public Affairs assignments in the Navy and Department of War for more than 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes repeatedly being at the center of a media firestorm qualify me to help lead Stars and Stripes?\u201d Urban asked in his letter. \u201cNo, but it is not a bad place to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apparently, a public relations expert is exactly what The Pentagon, under the leadership of Secretary of State Pete Hegseth and President Trump, has been looking for.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Secretary Hegseth over their concerns about the \u201cshakeup\u201d at Stars and Stripes represented by Lederer\u2019s retirement announcement and news that Urban would be his replacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d the Senators wrote in a letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor generations, American servicemembers, particularly those stationed overseas and in combat zones, have relied on Stars and Stripes for credible and independent news,\u201d the Senators added. \u201cThat trust depends on preserving a clear separation between independent journalism and the Department\u2019s public affairs apparatus. At this critical moment of leadership transition, that independence must not be compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin told CBS he would refuse censorship. The next month, he was fired.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nJournalists Fired From Military Newspaper for Asserting Editorial Independence - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1607\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Journalists Fired From Military Newspaper for Asserting Editorial Independence - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin told CBS he would refuse censorship. 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