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Stars and Stripes editor says he has been fired for insubordination
AP News • • general
Key Points:
- The Pentagon fired Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, along with its publisher Max Lederer and reporter Lara Korte, citing insubordination after Slavin criticized potential military censorship in a CBS interview.
- Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper partly funded by the Pentagon, has a long history of editorial independence, which Slavin emphasized must be maintained despite Pentagon pressures.
- Publisher Max Lederer announced his retirement shortly before receiving a separation notice, following the Pentagon's installation of Navy Capt. William Urban as deputy publisher without Lederer's prior knowledge.
- The firings and leadership changes occur amid the Trump administration's increasingly combative stance toward the media and Pentagon efforts to exert editorial control over Stars and Stripes, including eliminating so-called "woke distractions."
- Earlier in the year, the Pentagon also fired Jacqueline Smith, the newspaper's ombudsman responsible for protecting editorial independence, signaling a broader shift in Pentagon-media relations.
